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Other people have covered how the Dow is a mediocre stock index. The other half is that 20k doesn't mean anything either. It's just a number calculated by the

Other people have covered how the Dow is a mediocre stock index. The other half is that 20k doesn't mean anything either. It's just a number calculated by the math-function of the index. The psychology is mildly fun, just like a 50th birthday may be more celebrated than a 49th. Round numbers appeal to us. But 20k dow says nothing more about the state of the economy than the 19.9 dow did a few days ago.

coldtea 10y ago
>But 20k dow says nothing more about the state of the economy than the 19.9 dow did a few days ago. It's not the 20k vs 19.9 it's a) the record high, b) the upward trend.
- benjanik 10y ago
  But we won't be celebrating 20.1k in the same way.
  - coldtea 10y ago
    Which makes sense, because even if a value is continuous and its rise monotonic, you obviously can't celebrate all the time. Having some milestones to pause and ponder along the way makes sense.
choward 10y ago
Mediocre? It's worse than that. It's worthless. Stock price means nothing.
- crusso 10y ago
  It's ironic to see so many people posting about how the Dow and stock market mean nothing. If so, why did such noted liberal economists (like Krugman) make such dire predictions about where the market was going after Trump won the election? Are they to be disregarded because they obviously place a lot of importance on the stock market?