The Dow (Still) Doesn’t Matter

Back in August, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average got its latest makeover — dropping ExxonMobil, Raytheon, and Pfizer, and replacing them with Salesforce, Amgen, and Honeywell — I explained why the world’s most famous stock index is also the most overrated.

Today the Dow crossed the 30,000 mark for the first time, and that’s being treated as significant economic news. But as I explained previously, it makes little sense to treat an index of 30 stocks as offering a real snapshot of where the broader economy stands, or where it’s headed. The argument is just as relevant…