Q. When did the Dow first close above 10,000?
A. On March 29, 1999.
Q: Does the Dow at 20,000 mean anything for my 401(k)?
A: Not directly. It’s an indicator that stocks generally are doing well, but most stock funds in 401(k) and Individual Retirement Accounts track or compare themselves against other indexes.
The Dow had roughly $36 billion in investments tied to it, as of last spring, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The S&P 500, meanwhile, had more than $2.1 trillion.
Q. So stocks have gone up a lot, what about bonds?
A. Bond prices have gone down a fair bit since the election, which has sent long-term interest rates higher. The day before the election, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which is used to set rates on mortgages and other loans, was 1.85 percent. It now sits at 2.52 percent.
Investors have been selling bonds because they expect that the infrastructure spending plans of the president-elect could lead to faster economic growth and higher inflation, both of which are bad for bonds.
