The Dow Jones Industrial Average*
Unbiased financial information provided by Financial Wisdom.
The most often-quoted stock market indicator is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). In 1896, Charles Dow averaged closing prices of 12 representative stocks and the DJIA was christened. Since then it has been expanded to include 30 familiar blue chip companies to be more representative of the country’s largest companies.
The calculation is also changed to reflect stock splits. While this index is not reflective of the entire stock market, watching changes in the DJIA can help you stay abreast of current conditions.
Original Dow Stocks
- American Cotton Oil
- American Sugar
- American Tobacco
- Chicago Gas
- Distilling & Cattle Feeding
- General Electric
- Laclede Gas
- National Lead
- North American
- Tennessee Coal & Iron
- U. S. Leather preferred
- U. S. Rubber
Current DJIA Stocks
- 3M Company
- American Express Company
- Apple Inc.
- Boeing Company
- Caterpillar Incorporated
- Chevron Corporation
- Cisco Systems, Inc.
- Coca-Cola Company
- DuPont
- Exxon Mobil Corporation
- General Electric Company
- Goldman Sachs
- Home Depot Incorporated
- Intel Corporation
- International Business Machines
- J.P. Morgan Chase & Company
- Johnson & Johnson
- McDonald’s Corporation
- Merck & Company, Incorporated
- Microsoft Corporation
- Nike
- Pfizer Incorporated
- Proctor & Gamble Company
- Travelers Companies, Inc.
- UnitedHealth Group
- United Technologies Corporation
- Verizon Communications Inc.
- Visa
- Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated
- Walt Disney Company
In September, 2012, UnitedHealth Group replaced Kraft Foods. In September, 2013, Goldman Sachs, Nike and Visa replaced Alcoa, Bank of America and Hewlett Packard. In March, 2015, Apple replaced AT&T.
The DJIA is the most well known stock market indicator. However, the S+P 500 and NASDAQ indexes include a broader selection of stocks including smaller companies.
* Non-Deposit investment products (NDIP) are not insured Adams Community Bank deposits and are not FDIC insured. These products are not endorsed, recommended, or guaranteed by Adams Community Bank or any government agency. The value of investments may fluctuate, the return on investments is not guaranteed, and loss of principal is possible.
