The stock index “point” is a regular component of financial news reports. While much attention is paid to daily changes in stock index point totals, few people realize that the value of each stock index point also changes frequently. We call inattention to such variations “point blindness.” We describe point blindness' psychological causes and economic consequences. Our empirical inquiries include a content analysis of New York Times articles that demonstrates how news reports fuel point blindness and an experiment that we conducted on over 2,000 Americans. The experiment shows how simple changes in news presentations can significantly affect public perceptions of stock market performance. The directions of these perceptual shifts correspond to a refined understanding of the changing value of stock index points. Hence, small changes to news reports can provide valuable information to audiences.