Amid President Donald Trump’s widespread tariffs across the globe, U.S. stocks dipped low enough Monday to enter a territory known in industry parlance as a “bear market.”
And after two-back-to-back brutal days of stock market turmoil, many lower-income and middle-class families may be looking at their 401(k)-retirement savings and stock news, wondering how to make sense of it all.
What to know if you’re sifting through stock news and wondering what certain terms mean:
What is the Dow Jones?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) tracks America’s biggest and most established publicly owned blue-chip companies on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.
According to Investopedia, the Dow Jones is named after Charles Dow, who created the index in 1896 with his business partner, Edward Jones.
What is the S&P 500?
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is a weighted index of 500 leading publicly traded companies in the U.S.
It’s not an exact list of the top 500 U.S. companies but is regarded as one of the best gauges of the stock market overall, Investopedia says.
What is the Nasdaq?
The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) is an electronic marketplace for buying and selling securities. Most of the world tech giants are listed on the Nasdaq, according to Investopedia.
What is the NYSE?
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is “capitalism at its best, the belief that the free and fair markets offer every individual the chance to benefit from success,” the public entity says on its website.
Dating back to 1792, its the largest stock exchange in the world based on total market capitalization of its listed securities.
What is a bear, bull market?
According to Fidelity, a bear market is when a stock market index falls by at least 20% from recent highs.
A bull market marks a period of rising market index values. They signify an upward trend in stock prices. Bull markets tend to last longer than bear markets because stock prices tend to trend upward over time.
Should I buy during a bear market?
For the most part, panic buying or selling stocks isn’t a winning strategy, financial experts say. Some market analysts say the best thing to do during a heightened and volatile market is nothing.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tariffs spin the stock market on its head. What to know about the market terms you’re seeing
Reporting by Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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