<i>"It's a cap weighted index!
The Dow is price weighted.
Do you see any dramatic lack of correlation between those two indices?
No, right?
So the "weighting" isn't the answer, eh?
It's all in the components........."</i>
Be that as it may, wouldn't it be nice to see where all indexes would be with year 2000 components, no additions or subtractions whatsoever.
Of course that's impossible with delisted companies such as WCOM, Enron, etc but would give a true measure of where "the market" is today versus peak highs seven years ago.
Investors who had portfolios loaded with above two former stalwarts, JDSU, CMGI, PDLI, etc infinium take nil solace in the fact that Dow 12,000+ or S&P 1400+ are the current high water marks today.
I think that's what the OP actually meant, in a general sense.