At this point it is all inter-connected, maybe back in the 80's it was different, or even prior to 08. But now with all of these varying instruments being traded like stocks, ETF, etc, on exchanges easily accessed by the public, at this point, it's all connected via the markets.
Is it polling the health of the economy, yes, it's the primary poll, which I would say is pretty important. Whether 90% of people out there want to see it that way or not. They are the one's having to work paycheck to paycheck while the other 10% are writing their paychecks.
But then again, we are beyond the days where it's just the big hedge funds involved. You have everyday people out there in the markets because of brokerages like Robinhood, WeBull, etc, opening the stock market up to the average retail investor and making it easier for them to invest, trade, etc. That didn't happen until after the GFC. So yes, times are a changing and we can't compare to how things were even before the GFC, much less the fabulous 80s, lol. I know the fashion trends from that time are trying to come back, along with some synthwave pop, but, I think the financial markets have moved on, lol. ;)