How is the market doing?
This question is answered every day by countless media outlets:
“In financial markets, the Dow gained 65 points today while the S&P 500 rose 0.13% and the NASDAQ tacked on 0.25%.”
This generic language has accompanied each of the 302 trading days since January 17, 2018.
Since that time, these absolute daily changes add up to over 58,000 Dow points. Yet over this time, the index has gained less than 100 points.
The question of “how is the market doing?” is one that commands far too much attention given how little it actually matters in most people’s day-to-day lives. My friend Charlie Bilello is absolutely right when he says, “It is their job to entertain. It is your job to ignore.”
