More of the Same: Dow up, S&P, Comp., NASDAQ Down

The week came to an end with the usual split markets, a recurring motif of the current malaise in high finance.

Glancing at the figures below, we see that the Dow reached another new all-time closing high, while the weekly figures show the Dow putting on a good show with the other major indices pretty close to flat-lining.

In that this is not readily apparent as some kind of bias in the stock selection process, it is worth noting that market breadth has been breathtakingly narrow, with only a handful of NASDAQ stocks (particularly, the FAANGs) accountable for the bulk of recent advances.

Throwing the high tech stocks out of the mix would yield some rather mundane results in the NAZ, but the Dow, on the other hand, gets higher marks for its eclectic mix of dividend payers, stocks in favor throughout the low-interest rate environment of the past 17 years. It's no wonder that the Dow has exceeded all expectations when it comes to valuation, especially now that the "new normal" consists of stock buybacks and higher P/E ratios than in the latter decades of the 20th century.

Cold water should not be thrown upon the success of stock pickers and other erstwhile enthusiasts of paper promises and financial propaganda. Equity shares and fiat money are the currency of choice. Better to go with the flow than try to staunch the rising tide.

At the Close: 7/28/17:
Dow: 21,830.31, +33.76 (0.15%)
NASDAQ: 6,374.68, -7.51 (-0.12%)
S&P 500: 2,472.10, -3.32 (-0.13%)
NYSE Composite: 11,954.69, -8.54 (-0.07%)

For the Week:
Dow: +250.24 (1.61%)
NASDAQ: -13.08 (-0.20)
S&P 500: -0.44 (0.02%)
NYSE Composite: +30.09 (0.25%)