What You Think Should Happen Doesn't Always Happen In Real Life

Market skeptics and commenters on social media will watch a single variable move in what they consider an unfavorable way, and then jump to the conclusion that the stock market is in trouble.
Maybe the market eventually moves as they predicted. Sometimes that happens.
But markets are complicated, and they'll often move in counterintuitive ways.
Consider the recent rally in long-term interest rates. That's gotta be bad news for the stock market, right? Not necessarily.
Stocks sometimes move higher despite rising interest rates. (Source: FRED)
In his note to clients on Wednesday, Nick Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, challenged the idea that rising rates automatically mean lower stock market valuations. From his note: "You have probably heard this sequence of statements many times: Lo