The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been criticized by some market watchers for being a poor barometer of equity-market performance given its relatively small sample size of just 30 stocks.
But this quality, along with the paucity of megacap technology names, has helped shepherd the index toward what’s expected to be its biggest October gain in its 126-year history.
With a month-to-date gain of 14.40% through Friday, the Dow DJIA, +2.59% is on track for its best monthly performance since January 1976, when it rose 14.41%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. To clinch its best October ever, it only needs to hang on to a month-to-date gain of 10.65% by the time the U.S. market closes on Monday.
Article URL: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-the-dow-is-having-a-killer-month-as-it-heads-for-best-october-ever-11666976353