Stocks gained monday after Alcoa and Intel were upgraded. What does it really mean for the markets? Art Cashin, director of floor operations for UBS Financial Services, offered CNBC his insights.
Cashin noted that the vaunted "Santa rally" didn't come to full-on fruition this year:
"We might have to put [Santa's] picture on a milk carton, because he hasn't been around here that much."
By many accounts, this has been the worst decade ever for stocks. Does that imply that the upcoming 10-year period will see a strong rebound? Not necessarily, according to Cashin.
"'Dogs of the Dow' this year proved to be dogs and never came back," he pointed out. Investors are waiting for "things to get back to normal — but this might be the new normal."
So what's behind Monday's rally?
"The [US] dollar is pausing and that's causing a little sigh of relief," Cashin explained.
He cautioned investors that the dollar-stock link still "absolutely" exists, and that the greenback has been "telling the story the last three weeks," driving movement in shares, gold and oil.
"That's why I'm sitting on my money and watching the dollar."
What could "send the market into a tizzy"? Watch the Cashin interview to find out.
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Counterpoint:
- Investors Move Into Stocks, Cut Holdings of Bonds, Cash
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CNBC's Companies in the News:
Alcoa
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Walgreen
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Disclosures:
Disclosure information was not available for Cashin or his company.