Asawayofequitycontraction, share repurchaseinvolvescapitalstructureanddividendpolicies of listedcorporations, thus it can improve their internalstockvalue.
Many times over the past two years (such as Armageddon Fears Are Overblown on June 1, 2012 and Can Doom and Gloom Save the Market? on September 16, 2011), I have made the case that the internal strength of the stock market was signaling that the economy was actually stronger than most thought.
As stocks fluctuate from "overvalued" to "undervalued" due to stock market or internal cycles, the dividend yield also fluctuates between excessively rich and excessively meager.