The Illusion of the US #Stock# #Market# While US stock market indices are rising in nominal terms, they are actually losing ground. Not only are they lagging behind #gold# and #silver#, but they are underperforming compared to international markets like China and Vietnam. Furthermore, the US #Dollar# has depreciated; for instance, #European# investors have seen their purchasing power in the US increase by roughly 5% just by holding their own currency.