Dow erases losses as tech rally helps overcome dollar pressure

The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier losses as a rally in tech stocks offset dollar pressure.

The Dow gained 14 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.4%.

Consumer discretionary and information technology gave support to stocks, both up 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively. Casino stocks outperformed following news that China would allow tour groups in Macau for the first time in nearly three years. Wynn Resorts jumped 12.4%, and Las Vegas Sands was 11% higher. Tech stocks Enphase Energy and Salesforce rose 2.3% and 1.9%.

The British pound dropped to a record low on Monday against the U.S. dollar. Sterling at one point fell 4% to an all-time low of $1.0382. The Federal Reserve’s aggressive hiking campaign, coupled with U.K.’s tax cuts announced last week has caused the U.S. dollar to surge. The euro hit the lowest versus the dollar since 2002. A surging greenback can hurt the profits of U.S. multinationals and also wreak havoc on global trade, with so much of it transacted in dollars.

“Such U.S. dollar strength has historically led to some kind of financial/economic crisis,” wrote Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson, chief U.S. equity strategist, in a note. “If there was ever a time to be on the lookout for something to break, this would be it.”

Traders will be closely watching the S&P 500 on Monday for any break below its bear market low. The S&P’s low close for the year in June was 3,666.77. It closed Friday at 3,693.23 after trading briefly below that level. The benchmark’s intraday low for the year is 3,636.87. Any trading below those levels could drive more selling in the market.

On Friday, stocks ended a brutal week with the blue-chip Dow finding a new intraday low for the year and closing lower by 486 points. The broad-market S&P 500 temporarily broke below its June closing low and ended down 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.8%.

Another super-sized rate hike by the Federal Reserve last week was the catalyst for the latest leg downward in markets. The central bank indicated it could raise rates as high as 4.6% before pulling back. The forecast also shows the Fed plans to be aggressive this year, hiking rates to 4.4% before 2022 ends.

Bond yields soared after the Fed enacted another rate hike of 75 basis points. The 2-year and 10-year Treasury rates hit highs not seen in over a decade. On Friday, Goldman Sachs slashed its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 3,600 from 4,300.

Rates were surging again on Monday with the 2-year Treasury topping 4.29% at one point in the day.