120, and which index really had the bigger day?
On Wednesday, Nov 4, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,569.40 points to 53,356.12, the S&P 500 rose 119.70 points to 7,688.62 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 364.50 points to 25,736.51. The point gains look wildly different, but in percent terms the Dow was up about 3%, the S&P 500 about 1.6% and the Nasdaq about 1.4%. So the Dow really did have the bigger day, just not 13 times bigger.
A "point" is simply one unit of an index's level, and each index sits at a very different level. The Dow started the day near 51,787, so a 1% move there is roughly 518 points. The S&P 500 started near 7,569, so the same 1% move is only about 76 points. That's why points can't be compared across indexes, and why a "1,000-point drop" headline sounds scarier for the Dow than it would for the S&P 500. Percent change (the point move divided by the previous close) puts everything on the same scale. The same idea works for single stocks too: a $5 move means a lot more on a $20 stock than on a $500 one.
A good habit: when you see a big point number in a headline, look for the percent next to it before you react. Got questions about reading market headlines? There are no silly questions here, so ask away in the replies.
Sources: Reuters market report via The Business Times (Nov 5, 2026) and CBS News (Nov 4, 2026). Percentages and the 1% examples are worked out from those closing levels.
John Murray
Percent change is the fairer yardstick, so it's worth checking it before a big point number sets your mood for the day. It also helps to remember the Dow tracks just 30 companies, so it can move quite differently from the broader S&P 500.
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