Why stocks rallied after Dow Jones’ eight-day dip

Stock prices rallied nicely on Tuesday after the Dow Jones industrial average fell for eight straight days.

What caused the rally? It could have been remarks by Stanley Fischer, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. He recently said that there would be two more — rather than three more — rate hikes this year.

Or it could have been because the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence is sky high, despite Trump’s ratings being in the dumps — an anomaly if ever there was one.

It could also have even been because the Republicans, after earlier flubbing health care reform, decided to get right back on the issue.

But Tuesday’s rally was probably due more to the fact that we are at the end of the month and also the end of the first quarter, which hasn’t turned out as well as many investors hoped. Money managers always try to boost stocks to spruce up their performance during these periods.

The quarter ends Friday, so there are two more days to make nice rallies are possible.