Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, will launch The Global Dow, an index whose components are selected by the editors of The Wall Street Journal.

The launch of this new icon was unveiled on August 5 by Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation in Mumbai, India. Dow Jones Indexes is a business unit of Dow Jones & Company, a News Corporation company.

Murdoch said: "The world is changing and how we measure that change economically and financially is clearly a challenge and an opportunity.

"We have seen a reweighting of risk around the world, but the world itself is being economically rerated and so we need an index that allows investors to take advantage of these changes. Indian companies will obviously have a place in The Global Dow as will companies from other emerging countries where we have seen an unprecedented economic emancipation over the past two decades."

Robert Thomson, managing editor, The Wall Street Journal said: "While we must reflect the global stock market as it is, we must also recognise the rapid rise of companies in countries such as India.

"We have already seen great Indian companies acquiring famous brands such as Jaguar and Land Rover, but these developments are just the beginning of a long-term trend that will fundamentally change the international corporate landscape.

"As with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the component choices for the new index will be based on the editorial judgment of the world's leading business journalists, that is Dow Jones journalists."

The Global Dow will track the share prices of existing and future global leaders in every industry.

Vigorous companies from emerging economies will be included along with companies from emerging sectors such as alternative energy. - TradeArabia News Service