DOW, S&P, etc. giving a false sense of security?

Just a question I have as I don't know much about stocks however...

I have noticed the DOW and others seem to be hovering recently and if they do go down they go up a bit more the next day.

What concerns me is, as companies continue to forecast losses and continue to lay-off workers the stock seems to be somewhat stabilized for the past week or so. I'll see job loss headlines etc. and the stock will continue to raise.

To me this makes me wonder is there something else going on that is injecting money into the market in order to keep it from falling drastically?

I often wonder if there is some type of system in place to off set the actual loss and pump in money from a couple larger organizations maybe some of it being from the bailout plan.

What's got me thinking about this is that if you look at world markets recently everyone gains in one 24 hour period. The next 24 hours everyone (except Denmark) loses.

Normally I would think most up one day and most down but not every single one like clock work excluding Denmark.

I just check out world markets on CNN so I'm sure there's more markets out there. However I have always seen a mix of red and green in the past on any given day.

The past month or so everything either goes up or down and brings to my mind the question of, is this market being artificially controlled to avert large impending drops?

As long as the government keeps pumping billions into the stock market, investor confidence will remain about where it is...

People will buy stocks knowing that in the long run, if something goes wrong, the government has their back...

its enough to make you sick, but I think that is what is going on...

Meanwhile, the rest of us are suffering...

What you are watching is the death of the middle class....

yes it is being controlled to stop big drops

for more info I suggest checking up on this site.

Originally posted by Darthorious
I often wonder if there is some type of system in place to off set the actual loss and pump in money from a couple larger organizations maybe some of it being from the bailout plan.

Yep.

Also, you have your figures a little bit backwards with:

...if they do go down they go up a bit more the next day.

The general trend right now is downward. Hopefully this link will work properly:
3 month Dow
It's hard to follow along day to day as to exactly where the markets stand; it's better to look at the bigger picture.

I would say the stock market indicies indicate a close to immediate affect for investors if they are in the sectors experiencing ups and downs. The average Jane and Joe on the street will not be affected by the DOW (NASD, etc.) other than psychologically if they allow themselves to. If you work for a publically traded company then perhaps the effects could be more immediate, again if you are in the company with the wildly fluctuating stock price.

The economic ripples of the current financial crisis will affect people differently depending on their means and "requirements". For instance the recent spikes in fuel prices affected the Ford pickup truck owner more than the Prius owner. People in McMansions, used to constantly acquiring new goods, will feel the pinch more than people living frugally or at least within their means.

The DOW goes up and down like the tide. No reason to panic. It's the suits getting their just desserts.