By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: December 17, 2015  In a properly functioning, rational, and efficient market, any form of Fed tightening after seven years of filling the punch bowl with an elixir of easy money should have been viewed by the markets as a contraction of monetary policy and sent both stocks and risky bonds plunging. But what we saw in the markets yesterday can only be described as bizarre. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, composed of 30 large cap stocks which are viewed as a barometer of the overall U.S. economy, soared 244 points by the close of trading. The Nasdaq, made up mostly of smaller companies than those in the Dow, which would have a harder time in a higher interest rate environment because their debt is rated lower generally, also soared and closed up 75.77 points. A rise in interest rates should have sent utility stocks … Continue reading What Caused the Stock Market to Rally on a Fed Rate Hike?