NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The weak dollar is a crucial piece in the stock market's recent climb with dollar-based commodity stocks including energy, basic materials, mining and multinationals all benefiting from the greenback's decline. "Investors appear anxious to move funds to hard commodities and commodity-based equities as a hedge against the falling dollar," Fred Dickson, chief market strategist, Davidson Companies, said in a research note. "We continue to look for the stock market to remain volatile and remain closely tied to the daily movement of the dollar," Dickson added. Helping trigger yet another sell-off in the dollar and rally in commodities was news overnight that Australia had raised its basic target interest rates by a quarter of a point. Read more. On Wall Street energy and material shares fronted a second day of gains, with gold hitting a new high See Metals Stocks, and crude oil up to nearly $72 a barrel. Read Futures Movers. Up for a second day after a four-session stretch of loses, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU 9,759, +159.01, +1.66%) rose 135.35 points, or 1.4%, to 9,735.10. The S&P 500 Index (SPX 1,058, +17.68, +1.70%) added 16.24 points, or 1.6%, to 1,056.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP 2,107, +38.68, +1.87%) climbed 35.54 points, or 1.7%, to 2,103.68.

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