Stock Markets Exposed

In stock investing what does the term points mean?

Does points mean dollars? (i.e. When they say that the Dow is down 25 points, does that mean 25 dollars?) LOLZ, it is very peculiar that you insult my intelligence while not using proper grammar in responding to my question. Which one of us needs to grow some ******* common sense?

Public Comments

1. of course because the nation goes into a crisis because the dow dropped 200 some dollars. Grow some fucking common sense
2. Regarding the Dow being up or down in points, it means trading activity. It refers to the value of the DOW as a whole. As far as stocks themselves, points do mean dollars. If you own a stock that falls one point, it means it has lost one dollar per share.
3. A move of 1 for an index is a "point" move. An index is not measured in dollars, typically it is an average of the prices of the component securities; however, an index can be in dollars, euros, yen, or any other currency. We also use the term "point" to describe the movement of interest rates. ("The Fed move interest rates by a quarter point.) Another important item to understand is that futures prices move in "points" but a multiplier is applied. So if the Dow mini futures (which trade on the CBOT) moves up by one "point", a person with a long position makes $5.
4. Yes, generally. A point is a reference, to a dollar amount. A point could be different amounts with different products.