Via: Forbes

Within minutes of the market’s opening yesterday (Monday) morning, the Dow Jones plunged nearly 1000 points, creating the pained hashtags (#BlackMonday), and anguished GIFs that accompany a market slide in 2015. It was the type of correction that is usually seen anywhere from 1-3 times per year, and although it was indeed painful while it lasted, it was not necessarily outside of the norm. Markets are already back up today, negating all but about 195 points of that drop, and none of the usual indicators that would precede an imminent bear market seem to be in place.

And while single day shocks like that are exactly that; shocking, of course long term trends are really what supplies the fundamentals of both investing, and the stock market in general. Despite some criticisms that the past six years’ gains are more due to Fed policy than real economic strength, the market has gained substantially in value over that time, only a tiny fraction which was erased yesterday. The graph below does a good job of illustrating this point.

See? Not so bad in context. (Via Forbes, YCharts)

There is no shortage of sources of possible instability in the markets heading forward, including China, a possible interest rate hike in September (although that looks slightly less likely on the heels of this instability), and more; but for now at least, there seems to be at least a bit of hopeful optimism.