For some perspective on the long-term performance of the stock market, today’s chart presents the Dow priced in another global currency — gold (i.e. the Dow / gold ratio). For example, it currently takes less than a mere eight ounces of gold to ‘buy the Dow’ which is considerably less than the 44.8 ounces it took back in 1999. Priced in gold, the Dow has been in a massive 12-year bear market. Recently, the downtrend of the Dow (priced in gold) has slowed to its slowest pace since peaking at the end of the previous century. In fact, the Dow (priced in gold) is now testing resistance of its reduced downtrend channel thanks in part to a significant correction in gold itself.

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