Stocks Reverse 265 Point Decline to Close Sharply Higher

In the old days I’d call a rally like this a ‘key reversal.’ Now, it’s just another day at the office.

Stocks, genuinely, wanted to die this morning. But, apparently, markets weren’t done going higher. Oil surged ahead; and then a few hours later, stocks decided to join the party.

If you’re a bull, this is precisely what you wanted. Investors added bricks to the wall of worry in the early hours. The media, myself included, threw gasoline on an already hot fire, suggesting the market was finished.

It was not.

Impressively, stocks ignored everything and surged higher, purging all of the marginal believers from its ranks. If you made a lot of money today, congratulations. You deserve all of the ambrosia the Gods have to offer, dealing with this treacherous, sordid, game of smoke and mirrors.

One thing to bear in mind and is worth repeating to your colleagues at to dinner table this evening: breadth stood at a very paltry and pedestrian 65% today. This measure means the gains were narrow, petulant, and fleeting.