Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTRob IsbittsSat, June 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM GMT+2 5 min readIf you want to witness a pure psychological asset war, look no further than the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) and its primary tracking vehicle, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA). As we advance through this year, the oldest stock index in the world is suffering from a severe case of split personality.On any given day, you can look at the tape and see a set of stocks flashing bright green, looking technically sound and ready to break out, while the other half look absolutely atrocious, bleeding capital and carving out multi-month lows. I am heartened by any sign that the market is starting to distinguish between stocks, as high correlation has been a theme of my views here for a while.More News from BarchartBillionaire Mark Cuban Says Let’s Take Health Care Back to 1955 — ‘Patients Get a Bill and if They Can Afford It, They Pay That Bill’AI Data Centers’ Water Consumption Breaks 264 Billion Gallons in 2025 as Devastating Drought Hits Nearly 63% of U.S.Greg Abel is Writing Checks for Berkshire Hathaway in a Hurry. You Should Write One for BRK.B Stock.Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines.However, the lack of follow-through in many Dow names might be a sign that these surges in value are more a sign of faint hope. That is, traders aggressively hop into something that is both blue-chip and down on its luck. But they tend to be renters, not owners. So the moves are fleeting. That’s sure what it looks like to me.This internal friction has triggered a mechanical phenomenon, the likes of which I cannot recall, at least to this degree. Specifically, the Dow is staging sudden, explosive, single-day spikes on days when the tech-heavy Nasdaq ($NASX) is flattening out or sliding down. Financial media pundits immediately scream that the great rotation into value has finally arrived.To me, it looks more like the Great Pumpkin of “Peanuts” fame.But don’t fall for the headline trap. When you pan out and look at the actual long-term data, these short-term spikes are nothing more than tactical head-fakes. So far at least. Over time, the Dow has been unable to keep up with the S&P 500 ($SPX) or Nasdaq.That said, its structure, which is more diversified, less tech-laden, and lacks the huge overweight in Magnificent-7-type stocks, is giving DIA investors some hope. In the aggregate, that is.Here’s the DIA chart. This daily look shows what appears to be a true breakout. But breakouts ain’t what they used to be. So I’m holding tight on declaring a new era for Dow 30 investors. Frankly, I’d like to announce that, as I’ve grown tired of what I think is a second coming of the dot-com bubble, which I think will certainly end with a lot of disillusioned investors. I do not use the word “certainly” often.Terms and Privacy PolicyPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info