Small-cap stocks pushed higher in early trading action, lifted by a surge in the U.S. dollar, and by yet another economic report that surprised on the upside. At 9:54 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 1.52, or 0.21%, at 731.31.

The greenback was on a roll this morning, gaining about 0.9% versus the euro, which would put the buck on a pace to close at the highest level since late March. Dollar strength also was noted against the yen, with dollar/yen rates up nearly 0.7% into the U.S. stock market opening.

Equities markets were lower in after-hours trading, but started to move toward the green after the monthly productivity report beat expectations. The headline figure for productivity came in at a gain of 2.2%, which was above the forecast for a rise of 1.6%. Typically, the productivity report has only a modest impact on stocks, but it did appear to move the S&P 500 about four handles. Perhaps of greater significance is that the productivity report was yet another economic release that topped the forecast, feeding good news to a market that might need it with small caps closing at 13-week highs Tuesday. There’s an old saying in the market that “you have to feed a bull, not necessarily a bear.”

Despite the jump in the U.S. dollar, crude oil prices were still hovering in rare air after setting record intraday and closing price values Tuesday. Amid supply concerns out of Africa, geopolitical strife in the Middle East and analyst forecasts calling for sharp gains in crude oil in coming months, “black gold” remains strong and . . .

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