Has the stock market been scaling the proverbial wall of worry -- or has it simply gone 'mental' in a so-far bloodlessly postal kind of way? Investors' apparent obliviousness yesterday to dreadful numbers from the housing industry should have left no doubt about the answer: This time, it would seem, Wall Street really has gone off its rocker. The Dow Industrials were up as much as 75 points during the day, closing with a 35-point gain after it was reported that existing-home sales had registered their biggest drop in 18 years. This would have been scary enough if the statistic had come out of the blue. However, the glum report was no aberration, but rather one more manifestation of a trend that has persisted for quite some time and which seems to be waxing rather than waning. Although this already has caused the congenitally buoyant homebuilding industry to scale back production and ratchet down its forecasts each month, it hardly seems to have fazed equity share buyers, who very recently pushed the Dow Industrial Average to new all-time highs. Tuesday's spate of bad news was further compounded by a drop in the median home price from year-earlier levels as well as a decline in consumer confidence. Investors took it all in stride, sprinting for a respectable gain like some running back so hopped up on pain killers that he doesn't even know he's ripped a ligament. If the news should worsen and shares continue to waft higher nonetheless, it will no longer be a case of a runner sprinting with a torn ligament, but of a decapitated drum major leading a confetti parade down Wall Street. Power Lunches But would anyone even notice? The financiers have been so busy rolling up private equity deals in the $10 billion-$30 billion range
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