I just don't understand why the Dow is going up...

[imanamerican63]

especially when Trump and greedy goons are trying so desperately to bankrupt the country and destroy our economy?

[Ocelot II]

1. The stock market isn't the economy.

It's a small slice of it, the corporations that stand to benefit, at least temporarily. The stock traders who influnece share prices on a daily basis look at short term gains, not what will happen in a year.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. And the Dow is not the stock market. It only vaguely follows it. It is only 30 stock and is price-weighted.

Which means that a 10% move in $100 dollar stock counts for a lot less than a 5% move in $500 stock.

The Dow is bogus. It was created in the 1890s when hand cranked adding machines were high-tech. Use the S&P 500.

[Ocelot II]

5. Also true. The S&P is much more significant, but even that isn't "the economy."

It's just a sliver of it, and is based mainly on immediate fear and greed, whichever controls trading on a particular day.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. It's more than a sliver. The economic assets of the US and its citizens is about $100 Trillion

I think the stock and bond markets represent about $30 Trillion, and residential real estate is the largest portion of the rest. National debt is over $30 Trillion, I think.

[UpInArms]

2. Here's an index for you

https://www.cnn.com/markets/fear-and-greed

[bif]

4. It's the tail end of President Biden's economy

IMHO.

[walkingman]

6. You have to remember that the wealthiest people (top 10%) own

about 90% of the market and the working class owns about 10%. Like most people with IRAs, 401Ks, etc. we all have a lot of our retirement saving there also.

However, those that really control the direction of the market support less regulation, less taxes, and less government intrusion all support this administration simply because it means they make a lot more money and they keep more if he cuts their taxes.

The on again/off again tariffs is bad not only for business but also foreign policy so it obviously is not good for the market....harder to sell our bonds to support out ever-growing debt, and although the weakening of the dollar might be good for foreign trade it is not good at all for the "reserve currency" dollar which has a very big influence on interest rates.

Overall, although we have very little control over the stock market, over time the market has out-performed other investments - but time is the factor. The key is to be able to keep up with inflation so your savings will buy as much in the future as they do when you invest them.

I personally do not trust this administration at all and although the markets have recovered almost from the tariff scare earlier the last couple years of the Biden administration were economically very strong with 20+% gains and as we all know the market will not go up forever....when I see new highs and the market multiple so high...it makes me nervous and I am too old to go through another big correction so I am very cautious these days.

Sorry for the long diatribe, but like you, I think about this a lot. Just my opinion....we all have one ☮

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. A lot of people are more invested in the market than they think due to pension funds & insurance funds. . . nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. The market is over-priced and top-heavy with 7 stocks. And the Dow is bogus. Quit referring to the 1890s.

The market is probably overbought. Last couple of months a higher than usual amount of the buying has been by retail investors who are historically notoriously wrong about the stock market. They are so proud of themselves buying the April dip and have even have been congratulated for that in the stock market media. But they probably don't have much left to invest.

The economy is resilient but tight and hence a bit fragile. It is fraying at the edges. Job statistics are ticking down ever so slightly. West coast port traffic is still down. Tourism is down and the economic effects haven't rippled out yet. Crops are rotting in the fields but haven't affected stores much. Canadians are buying fewer US products. Federal government layoffs are mostly delayed until September because of "deferred resignations".

Tariff taxes amount to a supply shock, disrupting supply chains. The effects take a bit of time to ripple through but can have the effect of stagflation like the 1973 and 79 oil supply shocks. That puts the Fed Reserve between a rock and a hard place.

[gab13by13]

10. Why over-think this?

The market is up because the rich got their tax cuts. permanently.

[allegorical oracle]

11. A business editor I once worked with told me the stock exchange is a perverse

indicator. Goes up with bad news, depending on whose oxen is being gored.

[Dan]

12. It always seemed to me

That the stock market goes up when something occurs that hurts the working people. The more it hurts, the higher the stock market.

With the passing of this big beautiful bill - I suspect that the stock market was like a squirrel cracking a nut.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

13. People are dancing in countless TV ads. Wall $treet be happy!

Corporate America is making money hand over fist. All is well...