When I took Economics 101 in college, we learned all about gross national product (now called gross domestic product), employment, interest rates, inflation, and economic growth & decline.
I distinctly remember a wise ass in the back of the class room ask the prof, "Yeah but what about Wall Street?" His answer, "Wall Street is the world's biggest crap game. It has little direct connection to the economy. At best, it only indirectly reflects the real economy."
His answer then remains a good answer today.