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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The value of the stock market has increased by $4.2 trillion since the trough of October 2002, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. This increase in the market capitalization of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq translates into a percentage increase of 39 percent between October of 2002 and December 9, 2003.

   “The huge rise in the stock market since October of last year is good news for investors and reflects a significant improvement in the economic outlook,” Saxton said. “Congressional actions to reduce the tax burden on investment as well as on the overall economy have had a positive impact.

   “Moreover, investors whose IRAs and 401(k)s were battered after the stock market bubble burst in 2000 have finally had some relief. The financial excesses of the late 1990s had resulted in steep losses for all investors, but there has been a good deal of recovery in recent quarters. Now that the economy and business investment are back on a solid footing, and earnings are on the rise, continued gains in the stock market are likely,” Saxton concluded.

   For more information on economic conditions, please visit our website at www.house.gov/jec.

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