The Dow Jones industrial average registered its biggest one-day gain in six months yesterday, as investors plowed money into blue-chip issues and sold highly priced technology shares.

In the last two years, foreign investors have plowed more than $17 billion into China's state banking sector.

With foreign investors plowing money into Bangkok's stock exchange, the debacle at Thai Petrochemical became a piece of unsightly wreckage.

Until this year, the dollar had been strong because foreign investors were plowing more than $1 billion a day into investments here, much of it into American stocks.

No prudent investor would plow billions of dollars into Soviet factories or real estate without iron-clad guarantees that the income could be repatriated.

With dreams of such returns dancing in their heads, investors plowed huge sums of money into technology stocks during the late 1990's and the first months of this year.

In recent years, investors have plowed back into stocks whenever they have declined, a phenomenon known as "buying the dips."

While foreign investors have plowed more than $55 billion into projects here, local companies attest to Poland's nurturing of a home-grown entrepreneurial class.

In the last 10 years, investors have plowed more than $65 million into the company, which did not break even until 2003.

Furthermore, investors cannot take advantage of stock discounts or plow extra cash directly into additional shares without going through the broker - the biggest benefits of reinvestment plans.