The conspiracy side of me would say that stocks are being kept down (if you believe in the plunge protection team) to allow the fed room to lower rates December 11th. They need to work hard to do this considering we are in a historically postive time in the markets, turkey shoot (Thanksgiving) and yet to come the santa clause rally. Hopefully tomorrow will be a turn around Tuesday and perhaps we see a reversal and higher prices soon.

I also think the US stock market wants a lower dollar as it is good for earnings and the Fed is looking for ways to prevent an allout recession. What is not being realized (or is and they just do not care) is that by lower rates and ignoring inflation it will have major impact on all us down the road. Gold was due for a bit of a correction after the recent break out and does need a period of consolidation before the next advance. It will advance given what the Fed is doing.