THE assault on 6,000 by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has revived the debate over whether too much attention is paid to a fickle stock market measure.
Without IBM's sharp rebound from the depths of July and Saddam Hussein's talent for boosting oil prices (and oil company stocks such as Texaco and Exxon), the Dow might be 260 points short of 6,000, instead of 110 points.
For those seeking truth in measuring the stock market and the economy, that type of sway by a single company, or a handful, is not acceptable.
Some critics consider the Dow not very representative of today's technology and consumer-services sectors.
'It seems a growing number of market participants are disenchanted with the DJIA, arguing the industrial age is history and, thus, the average itself is irrelevant,' Gregory Nie, technical analyst at Everen Securities in Chicago, wrote in a recent report.
However, Mr Nie stands by the Dow as an important benchmark of stock market activity.
'The overwhelming majority of economists believe that two-thirds of US economic activity is tied to the consumer,' Mr Nie said.
