A Perfect Illustration of How To Fool The Public About Stocks

[Yavin4]

Look at this chart and tell me what you think:

"http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=^DJI&t=1d"

On edit:

Sorry, I can't get the link to work. It keeps putting in a space between the "=" and the ^. You'll have to cut and paste the link into your browser.

[gottaB]

1. and this one

Dow Jones Industrial Average Chart

[cheezus]

2. well, the graphic would suck if they started the y axis at 0

but I see your point

[Lone Pawn]

3. Hm? It's a one-day chart?

How on Earth would it be useful if it started at 0?

[vpigrad]

4. Are you talking about...

how they exaggerate upswings by not starting the graph at zero? They can make a 1 point gain look huge by making the entire graph go from, for example, 10,500 to 10,501. The by using a larger Y-axis, they can make declines look smaller. The journalists have been using this trick for decades, if not longer.

[Yavin4]

5. Exactly!

They're making it look like the DOW is booming when all along the y-axis is made to look huge. A 50 point swing upwards means that the DOW is gaining only .4%.

[Yavin4]

6. Here's Another Chart. This One Is For The Year

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=%20^DJI&t=1d


The year return on the DOW is only .9%. Yet, everyone is saying that the market is booming.