Stocks as an asset class . Dow advancing 26 points, s p gaining 0. 7 , nasdaq declines. But what really matters is what lurks underneath, because the accumulation of the evidence, the body of proof, so to speak, is in the pudding of individual stocks. Not all that big picture chatter about aggregate numbers that might make stocks in general seem expensive, because theyre trading at 17 times earnings as if there is a there there. Why is it so crucial to remember that individual stocks are much more important than the aggregate averages, at least in cramerica. Because over the last two decades something terrible has happened. Stocks are now treated lie commodities. What does that mean . It means theyre trading together as a unit, like corn or wheat. This kind of analysis totally ignores the value of virtually everything that happens in individual companies. Theres an bog gus reasoning at play here. In order to justify the how meteorologization of the stock market, but in reality, this wh