What does the Dow and Nasdaq mean to me?

monizk: What does the Dow and Nasdaq mean to me?
As a very new investor that knows nothing about the market but watches the news all the time when the news close they always say the dow closed (up or down) today and the Nasdaq closed (up or down) today. does this mean anything to me if im just buying little stocks here and there. is there a big picture as in if the nasdaq is up chances are i might have made money. please explain in a nutshell.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Carlos F
Good basic question. Here is a good site that answers a lot of newbie questions. Hope it helps you.

https://makingmoneyinvesting.blogspot.com/

Answer by Uncle D
The dow is the oldest index. I do not like to use it as a gage for the market. The dow has only 30 stocks few of which would be considered growth companies.
The NASDAQ is a more modern index. I consider the NASDAQ to be an index of growth stock and an index I measure my growth funds against.