Hello everybody. And, happy "Back to the Future" day! If you have no idea what I'm talking about (though given the amount of media coverage devoted to it, that seems impossible), today's the day that Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown traveled to from 1985 in the movie Back to the Future II. While it's unlikely director and writer Robert Zemeckis ever thought we'd still be talking about the movie 26 years after its release [yes, it was released in 1989 though set in 1985], it's one of those flicks that simply ended up being too endearing to let slip out of mind. Of course, being a movie-fan-favorite means little details like the dates mentioned in the movie are remembered, and then compared to reality once the date arrives for real. And incredibly enough, some of the things that seemed crazy back then aren't crazy at all now that it's here. On the other hand, plenty of things predicted at the time are far from being reality. Among some of the things pointed to in the film that have become reality - more or less - since then are the ability to 3-dimensionalize movies, hovering skateboards (though still hardly a widely available toy), smart wearables, tablets, and video conferencing. On the flipside, we're still waiting for flying cars to become the norm, fax machines are now a relic (they were touted as the best means of sending information in the movie), and nobody is simultaneously wearing two ties at the same time. All the same, given what Zemeckis knew and had reason to believe at the time, Back to the Future II did a pretty good job at predicting a plausible future without gratuitously going over the top. That may well be part of the movie's charm... it was just believable enough to not be laughable. Alright, let's actually talk a little bit about this market. Don't Act Surprised Well, all I can say is, the bulls had their chance. The fact that they didn't take it speaks volumes about how unconfident they are right now. Yes, the market lost more than half of a percentage point today, but if you look closely you'll see the bulk of today's setback didn't take shape until late in the session. That means the bulls had two and a half days (and arguably longer) to push the major indices past a key technical hurdle - a moving average line, in this case - and they just didn't. Convinced the bulls weren't going to get in the way, the bears started to make their move today. What else could we have expected? Granted, there's still a way for the bulls to salvage things after Wednesday's action. The S&P 500 is still well above its 20-day and 50-day moving average lines, which I consider the pivotal lines in the sand right now. It's conceivable the index could just bounce around between the ceiling at 2038 and floor at 1978 for a few days while it gets its bearings. While such a move would be incredibly annoying in the short run, in the long run it would help brew up the pressure to be unleashed once we finally do manage to break out of this rut. Don't Sweat the U.S. Dollar's Rise Just Yet For those of you who are also Elite Opportunity subscribers, you'll already know John Monroe spoke at great length today about something we've talked about here in the end-of-day newsletter a few times of late... the U.S. dollar. After reading what John had to say, I can't get that discussion out of my head just because (1) it matters right now, and (2) John is right. While I can't divulge the relationship between the U.S. dollar and our stock market - and those current nuances between the two - that EO members were treated to today, I certainly don't mind showing you an updated chart of the greenback. Here it is. Although the U.S. Dollar Index made a long-tailed reversal effort last week after breaking just below September's low of 94.06 and has continued to climb in the meantime, I wouldn't get too bullish on the dollar just yet. You only have to look back the past few months to see ups and downs are the norm for the dollar right now, and on a net basis, we're still clearly in a downtrend. In fact, we have bearish crossunders of the most important moving averages for the U.S. Dollar Index right now. It would only take a mere brush with one of them in the near future to send the dollar spiraling to lower lows again. As far as what this may mean for the stock market, well, I don't want to use too much of the message John meant to be exclusive to Elite Opportunity members, but I will say some of the relationship between stocks and the dollar right now are the obvious ones, and some of them aren't so obvious. The X-factor in the matter is the Federal Reserve and the role it plays in determining interest rates, which in turn should impact the U.S. dollar's future. As they say, "it's complicated." If you're not getting the Elite Opportunity newsletter, you're missing out on a lot higher-level commentary; the dollar and its relationship with the stock market was just today's focal point. If you really want to take your investing to the next level, becoming an EO member is the best way to do so. By the way, look for Thursday's edition of the SCN newsletter to be published in the morning - right around the market's open - rather than in the afternoon. We've got a new trading idea for you we're putting the finishing touches on right now. Everything should be ready in the morning, and we'd rather give it to you ASAP than force you to wait until Friday to do something about it. You'll see why tomorrow.