After yesterday’s explosive open, stocks are seeing a more muted yet remarkably consistent rally.
With not much else, a single theme is dominating the price action: Wall Street is overwhelmingly approving of the recent US operations in Venezuela.
If the rally were confined solely to energy stocks, it could be dismissed as a targeted sector play. However, with participation broadening across most sectors, the signal is one of renewed confidence in US policy, particularly with the US Dollar rallying back today.
The narrative is shifting. The “America First” approach is no longer being viewed merely as isolationist, but as an aggressive strategy placing US interests at the front of the global stage.
A mistake from most is to look at today’s situation from the glance of the 2000 peace regime when one should look 100 to 200 years back.
Traders are connecting the dots between the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, the tentative thawing of relations with Russia, and now, the intervention in Venezuela coupled with fresh warnings to other nations.
President Trump appears to be resurrecting the Monroe Doctrine for the modern age—dubbed by many as the “Donroe Doctrine.”
With retail and institutional participants alike deploying their year-end bonuses and holiday capital into the markets, this geopolitical assertiveness is providing a powerful backdrop for equities to run higher.