A strong dollar is making U.S. goods more expensive for the rest of the world, and that's hurting U.S. stocks of companies that export.
In one example, Akamai (AKAM) management is expecting much greater foreign exchange headwind for the rest of the year, according to its Q1 earnings call. Colgate Palmolive (CL) said Q1 gross profit margin and operating profit margin fell due to supply chain issues, inflation, and foreign exchange headwinds.
The U.S. dollar, the world's reserve currency, has long been considered a safe have. Recent geopolitical turmoil only reinforces that position. And now that the Federal Reserve has started raising rates, investors who want to buy U.S. Treasurys (another safe haven) for their slightly higher yield need to pay in U.S. dollars, increasing demand for the currency.
As the Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index has climbed 8.8% in the past year, the S&P 500 has dropped 0.5%, Colgate (CL) -6.7% and Akamai (AKAM) -13% as seen in this chart.