Looking up: Dow looks to extend winning streak to two
The Dow is riding a one-day winning streak. Why is that relevant? Because after the Dow’s gain of 52 points Monday following last week’s bloodbath, the blue-chip gauge now has a shot at extending its winning streak to two sessions — something it hasn’t been able to do since a 351-point two-day gain on Dec. 22-23 — or before Christmas.
That’s how bad things have been for the Dow Jones industrial average in recent weeks. Since its last two-session win streak, the Dow has fallen more than 1,200 points, or 6.8%.
U.S. stocks have been undermined by fears of a severe economic slowdown in China, an ongoing decline in oil prices and a fresh attempt by the bears to spread the message of coming financial Armageddon.
That’s why the Dow’s ability to chalk up even one up day is a big step, even if a middling 50-plus-point gain doesn’t conjure up an image of a market ready to bounce back with the vigor of a young bull. It breaks the negative narrative of a stock market in retreat. It breaks the dismal storyline of the market’s worst-ever start to a year. And it gives the bulls something to build on — despite the fact the Dow is still down a hefty 5.9% for the year.
Hopefully, Monday's rebound will add a semblance of stability to a stock market that suddenly seems to be focusing only on gloomy headlines. In short, it’s a start. A two-day winning streak could give Wall Street bulls a chance to get back to the lectern and say some nice things about a stock market that has treated investors badly in 2016.
And in pre-market trading early Tuesday, it looks like the market is playing along. The Dow is up 110 points, or 0.7%, three hours before the opening bell on Wall Street.