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Dow Jones Industrial Average

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"Dow Jones index" redirects here. For other indices, see Dow Jones.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (/ˈdaʊ/), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.

Dow Jones Industrial Average
A historical graph. The Dow rises periodically through the decades with corrections along the way, from its record low of under 35 in the late 1890s to a high of around 36,000 in 2022.
Historical logarithmic graph of the DJIA from 1896 to 2018
FoundationFebruary 16, 1885; 139 years ago (1885-02-16) (as DJA)[1]
May 26, 1896 (1896-05-26) (as DJIA)[2]
OperatorS&P Dow Jones Indices
Exchanges
Trading symbol
  • ^DJI
  • $INDU
  • .DJI
  • DJIA
Constituents30
TypeLarge cap
Market capUS$12.0 trillion
(as of December 29, 2023)[3]
Weighting methodPrice-weighted index
Websitewww.spglobal.com/spdji/en/

The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indexes. Many professionals[who?] consider it to be an inadequate representation of the overall U.S. stock market compared to a broader market index such as the S&P 500. The DJIA includes only 30 large companies. It is price-weighted, unlike other common indexes such as the Nasdaq Composite or S&P 500, which use market capitalization.[4][5][6][7]

The value of the index can also be calculated as the sum of the stock prices of the companies included in the index, divided by a factor, which is approximately 0.152 as of April 2024. The factor is changed whenever a constituent company undergoes a stock split so that the value of the index is unaffected by the stock split.

First calculated on May 26, 1896,[2] the index is the second-oldest among U.S. market indices, after the Dow Jones Transportation Average. It was created by Charles Dow, co-founder of both The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones & Company, and named after him and his business associate, statistician Edward Jones.

The index is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices, an entity majority-owned by S&P Global. Its components are selected by a committee. The ten components with the largest dividend yields are commonly referred to as the Dogs of the Dow. As with all stock prices, the prices of the constituent stocks and consequently the value of the index itself are affected by the performance of the respective companies as well as macroeconomic factors.

Dow Jones Industrial Average 1970–2022

Components

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As of October 18, 2024, the Dow Jones Industrial Average consists of the following companies, with a weighting as shown:[8]

DJIA component companies, showing trading exchange, ticker symbols and industry
Company Exchange Symbol Industry Date added Notes Index weighting
3M NYSE MMM Conglomerate 1976-08-09 As Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing 2.06%
American Express NYSE AXP Financial services 1982-08-30 4.34%
Amgen NASDAQ AMGN Biopharmaceutical 2020-08-31 4.88%
Amazon NASDAQ AMZN Retailing 2024-02-26 2.85%
Apple NASDAQ AAPL Information technology 2015-03-19 3.53%
Boeing NYSE BA Aerospace and defense 1987-03-12 2.36%
Caterpillar NYSE CAT Construction and mining 1991-05-06 5.99%
Chevron NYSE CVX Petroleum industry 2008-02-19 Also 1930-07-18 to 1999-11-01 2.30%
Cisco NASDAQ CSCO Information technology 2009-06-08 0.86%
Coca-Cola NYSE KO Drink industry 1987-03-12 Also 1932-05-26 to 1935-11-20 1.06%
Disney NYSE DIS Broadcasting and entertainment 1991-05-06 1.47%
Dow NYSE DOW Chemical industry 1991-05-06 0.81%
Goldman Sachs NYSE GS Financial services 2013-09-23 8.03%
Home Depot NYSE HD Home Improvement 1999-11-01 6.31%
Honeywell NASDAQ HON Conglomerate 2020-08-31 AlliedSignal and Honeywell 3.33%
IBM NYSE IBM Information technology 1979-06-29 Also 1932-05-26 to 1939-03-04 3.54%
Intel NASDAQ INTC Semiconductor industry 1999-11-01 0.34%
Johnson & Johnson NYSE JNJ Pharmaceutical industry 1997-03-17 2.50%
JPMorgan Chase NYSE JPM Financial services 1991-05-06 3.41%
McDonald's NYSE MCD Food industry 1985-10-30 4.78%
Merck NYSE MRK Pharmaceutical industry 1979-06-29 1.67%
Microsoft NASDAQ MSFT Information technology 1999-11-01 6.33%
Nike NYSE NKE Clothing industry 2013-09-23 1.27%
Procter & Gamble NYSE PG Fast-moving consumer goods 1932-05-26 2.60%
Salesforce NYSE CRM Information technology 2020-08-31 4.42%
Travelers NYSE TRV Insurance 2009-06-08 4.02%
UnitedHealth Group NYSE UNH Managed health care 2012-09-24 8.60%
Verizon NYSE VZ Telecommunications industry 2004-04-08 0.67%
Visa NYSE V Financial services 2013-09-23 4.41%
Walmart NYSE WMT Retailing 1997-03-17 1.23%

Former components

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Main article: Historical components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average

As of February 26, 2024, the components of the DJIA have changed 58 times since its beginning on May 26, 1896. General Electric had the longest presence on the index, beginning in the original index in 1896 and ending in 2018, but was dropped and re-added twice between 1898 and 1907. Changes to the index since 1991 are as follows:

Investment methods

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Investing in the DJIA is possible via index funds as well as via derivatives such as option contracts and futures contracts.

Mutual and exchange-traded funds

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Index funds, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETF) can replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the index by holding the same stocks as the index in the same proportions. An ETF that replicates the performance of the index is issued by State Street Corporation (NYSE Arca: DIA).[34]

ProShares offers leveraged ETFs that attempt to produce three times the daily result of either investing in (NYSE Arca: UDOW) or shorting (NYSE Arca: SDOW) the Dow Jones Industrial Average.[35]

Futures contracts

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In the derivatives market, the CME Group through its subsidiaries the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), issues Futures Contracts; the E-mini Dow ($5) Futures (YM), which track the average and trade on their exchange floors respectively. Trading is typically carried out in an open outcry auction, or over an electronic network such as CME's Globex platform.

Options contracts

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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) issues option contracts on the Dow through the root symbol DJX. Options on various Dow-underlying ETFs are also available for trading.[36]

Annual returns

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The following table shows the annual development of the Dow Jones Index, which was calculated back to 1896.[37][38]

End-of-year closing values for DJIA
Year Closing Value Net Change % Change
1896 40.45 −0.49 −1.20
1897 49.41 +8.96 +22.15
1898 60.52 +11.11 +22.49
1899 66.08 +5.56 +9.19
1900 70.71 +4.63 +7.01
1901 64.56 −6.15 −8.70
1902 64.29 −0.27 −0.42
1903 49.11 −15.18 −23.61
1904 69.61 +20.50 +41.74
1905 96.20 +26.59 +38.20
1906 94.35 −1.85 −1.92
1907 58.75 −35.60 −37.73
1908 86.15 +27.40 +46.64
1909 99.05 +12.90 +14.97
1910 81.36 −17.69 −17.86
1911 81.68 +0.32 +0.39
1912 87.87 +6.19 +7.58
1913 78.78 −9.09 −10.34
1914 54.58 −24.20 −30.72
1915 99.15 +44.57 +81.66
1916 95.00 −4.15 −4.19
1917 74.38 −20.62 −21.71
1918 82.20 +7.82 +10.51
1919 107.23 +25.03 +30.45
1920 71.95 −35.28 −32.90
1921 81.10 +9.15 +12.72
1922 98.73 +17.63 +21.74
1923 95.52 −3.21 −3.25
1924 120.51 +24.99 +26.16
1925 156.66 +36.15 +30.00
1926 157.20 +0.54 +0.34
1927 202.40 +45.20 +28.75
1928 300.00 +97.60 +48.22
1929 248.48 −51.52 −17.17
1930 164.58 −83.90 −33.77
1931 77.90 −86.68 −52.67
1932 59.93 −17.97 −23.07
1933 99.90 +39.97 +66.69
1934 104.04 +4.14 +4.14
1935 144.13 +40.09 +38.53
1936 179.90 +35.77 +24.82
1937 120.85 −59.05 −32.82
1938 154.76 +33.91 +28.06
1939 150.24 −4.52 −2.92
1940 131.13 −19.11 −12.72
1941 110.96 −20.17 −15.38
1942 119.40 +8.44 +7.61
1943 135.89 +16.49 +13.81
1944 152.32 +16.43 +12.09
1945 192.91 +40.59 +26.65
1946 177.20 −15.71 −8.14
1947 181.16 +3.96 +2.23
1948 177.30 −3.86 −2.13
1949 200.13 +22.83 +12.88
1950 235.41 +35.28 +17.63
1951 269.23 +33.82 +14.37
1952 291.90 +22.67 +8.42
1953 280.90 −11.00 −3.77
1954 404.39 +123.49 +43.96
1955 488.40 +84.01 +20.77
1956 499.47 +11.07 +2.27
1957 435.69 −63.78 −12.77
1958 583.65 +147.96 +33.96
1959 679.36 +95.71 +16.40
1960 615.89 −63.47 −9.34
1961 731.14 +115.25 +18.71
1962 652.10 −79.04 −10.81
1963 762.95 +110.85 +17.00
1964 874.13 +111.18 +14.57
1965 969.26 +95.13 +10.88
1966 785.69 −183.57 −18.94
1967 905.11 +119.42 +15.20
1968 943.75 +38.64 +4.27
1969 800.36 −143.39 −15.19
1970 838.92 +38.56 +4.82
1971 890.20 +51.28 +6.11
1972 1,020.02 +129.82 +14.58
1973 850.86 −169.16 −16.58
1974 616.24 −234.62 −27.57
1975 852.41 +236.17 +38.32
1976 1,004.65 +152.24 +17.86
1977 831.17 −173.48 −17.27
1978 805.01 −26.16 −3.15
1979 838.74 +33.73 +4.19
1980 963.99 +125.25 +14.93
1981 875.00 −88.99 −9.23
1982 1,046.54 +171.54 +19.60
1983 1,258.64 +212.10 +20.27
1984 1,211.57 −47.07 −3.74
1985 1,546.67 +335.10 +27.66
1986 1,895.95 +349.28 +22.58
1987 1,938.83 +42.88 +2.26
1988 2,168.57 +229.74 +11.85
1989 2,753.20 +584.63 +26.96
1990 2,633.66 −119.54 −4.34
1991 3,168.83 +535.17 +20.32
1992 3,301.11 +132.28 +4.17
1993 3,754.09 +452.98 +13.72
1994 3,834.44 +80.35 +2.14
1995 5,117.12 +1,282.68 +33.45
1996 6,448.26 +1,331.14 +26.01
1997 7,908.24 +1,459.98 +22.64
1998 9,181.43 +1,273.19 +16.10
1999 11,497.12 +2,315.69 +25.22
2000 10,786.85 −710.27 −6.18
2001 10,021.50 −765.35 −7.10
2002 8,341.63 −1,679.87 −16.76
2003 10,453.92 +2,112.29 +25.32
2004 10,783.01 +329.09 +3.15
2005 10,717.50 −65.51 −0.61
2006 12,463.15 +1,745.65 +16.29
2007 13,264.82 +801.67 +6.43
2008 8,776.39 −4,488.43 −33.84
2009 10,428.05 +1,651.66 +18.82
2010 11,577.51 +1,149.46 +11.02
2011 12,217.56 +640.05 +5.53
2012 13,104.14 +886.58 +7.26
2013 16,576.66 +3,472.52 +26.50
2014 17,823.07 +1,246.41 +7.52
2015 17,425.03 −398.04 −2.23
2016 19,762.60 +2,337.57 +13.42
2017 24,719.22 +4,956.62 +25.08
2018 23,327.46 −1,391.76 −5.63
2019 28,538.44 +5,210.98 +22.34
2020 30,606.48 +2,068.04 +7.25
2021 36,338.30 +5,731.82 +18.73
2022 33,147.25 −3,191.05 −8.78
2023 37,689.54 +4,542.29 +13.70

History

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See also: Closing milestones of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and List of largest daily changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average

Precursor

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DJIA monthly trading volume in shares from 1929 to 2012

In 1884, Charles Dow composed his first stock average, which contained nine railroads and two industrial companies that appeared in the Customer's Afternoon Letter, a daily two-page financial news bulletin which was the precursor to The Wall Street Journal. On January 2, 1886, the number of stocks represented in what is now the Dow Jones Transportation Average dropped from 14 to 12, as the Central Pacific Railroad and Central Railroad of New Jersey were removed. Though comprising the same number of stocks, this index contained only one of the original twelve industrials that would eventually form Dow's most famous index.[39]

Initial components

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Dow calculated his first average purely of industrial stocks on May 26, 1896, creating what is now known as the Dow Jones Industrial Average. None of the original 12 industrials still remain part of the index.[40]

Early years

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When it was first published in the mid-1880s, the index stood at a level of 62.76. It reached a peak of 78.38 during the summer of 1890, but reached its all-time low of 28.48 in the summer of 1896 during the Panic of 1896. Many of the biggest percentage price moves in the Dow occurred early in its history, as the nascent industrial economy matured. In the 1900s, the Dow halted its momentum as it worked its way through two financial crises: the Panic of 1901 and the Panic of 1907. The Dow remained stuck in a range between 53 and 103 until late 1914. The negativity surrounding the 1906 San Francisco earthquake did little to improve the economic climate; the index broke 100 for the first time in 1906.[43]

At the start of the 1910s, the Panic of 1910–1911 stifled economic growth. On July 30, 1914, as the average stood at a level of 71.42, a decision was made to close the New York Stock Exchange, and suspend trading for a span of four and a half months. Some historians believe the exchange was closed because of a concern that markets would plunge as a result of panic over the onset of World War I. An alternative explanation is that the United States Secretary of the Treasury, William Gibbs McAdoo, closed the exchange to conserve the U.S. gold stock in order to launch the Federal Reserve System later that year, with enough gold to keep the United States on par with the gold standard. When the markets reopened on December 12, 1914, the index closed at 74.56, a gain of 4.4%. This is frequently reported as a large drop, due to using a later redefinition. Reports from the time say that the day was positive.[44] Following World War I, the United States experienced another economic downturn, the Post–World War I recession. The Dow's performance remained unchanged from the closing value of the previous decade, adding only 8.26%, from 99.05 at the beginning of 1910, to a level of 107.23 at the end of 1919.[45]

The Dow experienced a long bull run from 1920 to late 1929 when it rose from 73 to 381 points.[46] In 1928, the components of the Dow were increased to 30 stocks near the economic height of that decade, which was nicknamed the Roaring Twenties. This period downplayed the influence of the Depression of 1920–1921 and certain international conflicts such as the Polish–Soviet War, the Irish Civil War, the Turkish War of Independence and the initial phase of the Chinese Civil War. After a peak of 381.17 on September 3, 1929, the bottom of the 1929 crash came just 2 months later on November 13, 1929, at 195.35 intraday, closing slightly higher at 198.69.[47] The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression over the next several years saw the Dow continue to fall until July 8, 1932, when it closed at 41.22,[48] roughly two-thirds of its mid-1880s starting point and almost 90% below its peak. Overall for the 1920s decade, the Dow still ended with a healthy 131.7% gain, from 107.23 to 248.48 at the end of 1929.[46] In inflation-adjusted numbers, the high of 381.17 on September 3, 1929, was not surpassed until 1954.

Marked by global instability and the Great Depression, the 1930s contended with several consequential European and Asian outbreaks of war, leading to the catastrophic World War II in 1939. Other conflicts during the decade which affected the stock market included the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War, the 1935–1936 Second Italo-Abyssinian War, the Soviet-Japanese Border War of 1939, and the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937. The United States experienced the Recession of 1937–1938, which temporarily brought economic recovery to a halt. The largest one-day percentage gain in the index happened in the depths of the 1930s bear market on March 15, 1933, when the Dow gained 15.34% to close at 62.10. However, as a whole throughout the Great Depression, the Dow posted some of its worst performances, for a negative return during most of the 1930s for new and old stock market investors. For the decade, the Dow Jones average was down from 248.48 at the beginning of 1930, to a stable level of 150.24 at the end of 1939, a loss of about 40%.[49]

1940s

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Post-war reconstruction during the 1940s, along with renewed optimism of peace and prosperity, brought about a 33% surge in the Dow from 150.24 to 200.13. The strength in the Dow occurred despite the Recession of 1949 and various global conflicts.

1950s

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During the 1950s, the Korean War and the Cold War did not stop the Dow's climb higher. A nearly 240% increase in the average from 200.13 to 679.36 ensued over the course of that decade.

1960s

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The Dow began to stall during the 1960s as the markets trudged through the Kennedy Slide of 1962, but still managed an 18% gain from 679.36 to 800.36.

1970s

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The 1970s marked a time of economic uncertainty and troubled relations between the U.S. and certain Middle-Eastern countries. The 1970s energy crisis was a prelude to a disastrous economic climate along with stagflation, the combination of high unemployment and high inflation. However, on November 14, 1972, the average closed at 1,003.16, above the 1,000 mark for the first time, during a brief relief rally in the midst of a lengthy bear market.[43] Between January 1973 and December 1974, the average lost 48% of its value in what became known as the 1973–1974 stock market crash, closing at 577.60 on December 6, 1974.[50] The nadir came after prices dropped more than 45% over two years since the NYSE's high point of 1,003.16 on November 4, 1972. In 1976, the index reached 1,000 several times and it closed the year at 1,004.75. Although the Vietnam War ended in 1975, new tensions arose towards Iran surrounding the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Performance-wise for the 1970s, the index remained virtually flat, rising 4.8% from 800.36 to 838.74.

1980s

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The Dow fell 22.61% on Black Monday (1987) from about the 2,500 level to around 1,750. Two days later, it rose 10.15% above the 2,000 level for a mild recovery attempt.

The 1980s began with the early 1980s recession. In early 1981, the index broke above 1,000 several times, but then retreated. After closing above 2,000 in January 1987,[43] the largest one-day percentage drop occurred on Black Monday, October 19, 1987, when the average fell 22.61%. There were no clear reasons given to explain the crash.

On October 13, 1989, the Friday the 13th mini-crash, which initiated the collapse of the junk bond market, resulted in a loss of almost 7% of the index in a single day.[51]

During the 1980s, the Dow increased 228% from 838.74 to 2,753.20; despite the market crashes, Silver Thursday, an early 1980s recession, the 1980s oil glut, the Japanese asset price bubble, and other political distractions. The index had only two negative years in the 1980s: in 1981 and 1984.

1990s

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The 1990s brought on rapid advances in technology along with the introduction of the dot-com era. The markets contended with the 1990 oil price shock compounded with the effects of the early 1990s recession and a brief European situation surrounding Black Wednesday.[citation needed] Certain influential foreign conflicts such as the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt which took place as part of the initial stages of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Revolutions of 1989; the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War, the Gulf War, and the Yugoslav Wars failed to dampen economic enthusiasm surrounding the ongoing Information Age and the "irrational exuberance" (a phrase coined by Alan Greenspan[52]) of the dot-com bubble.[citation needed] Between late 1992 and early 1993, the Dow staggered through the 3,000 level making only modest gains as the biotechnology sector suffered through the downfall of the Biotech Bubble; as many biotech companies saw their share prices rapidly rise to record levels and then subsequently fall to new all-time lows.[53]

The Dow soared from 2,753 to 8,000 between January 1990 to July 1997.[43] In October 1997, the events surrounding the 1997 Asian financial crisis plunged the Dow into a 554-point loss to a close of 7,161.15; a retrenchment of 7.18% in what became known as the October 27, 1997 mini-crash.

However, the Dow continued climbing past 9,000 despite negativity surrounding the 1998 Russian financial crisis along with the subsequent fallout from the 1998 collapse of Long-Term Capital Management due to bad bets placed on the movement of the Russian ruble.[54]

On March 29, 1999, the average closed at 10,006.78, its first close above 10,000. This prompted a celebration on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor, complete with party hats.[55] Total gains for the decade exceeded 315%; from 2,753.20 to 11,497.12, which equates to 12.3% annually.

The Dow averaged a 5.3% return compounded annually for the 20th century, a record Warren Buffett called "a wonderful century"; when he calculated that to achieve that return again, the index would need to close at about 2,000,000 by December 2099.[56]

2000s

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The Dow fell 14.3% after the September 11 attacks. Exchanges were closed from September 12 through September 16, 2001.

On September 17, 2001, the first day of trading after the September 11 attacks on the United States, the Dow fell 7.1%. However, the Dow began an upward trend shortly after the attacks, and regained all lost ground to close above 10,000 for the year. In 2002, the Dow dropped to a four-year low of 7,286 on September 24, 2002, due to the stock market downturn of 2002 and lingering effects of the dot-com bubble. Overall, while the NASDAQ index fell roughly 75% and the S&P 500 index fell roughly 50% between 2000 and 2002, the Dow only fell 27% during the same period. In 2003, the Dow held steady within the 7,000 to 9,000-point level and recovered to the 10,000 mark by year end.[57]

The Dow continued climbing and reached a record high of 14,198.10 on October 11, 2007, a mark which was not matched until March 2013.[58] It then dropped over the next year due to the 2007–2008 financial crisis.

On September 15, 2008, a wider financial crisis became evident after the Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers along with the economic effect of record high oil prices which had reached almost $150 per barrel two months earlier. The Dow lost more than 500 points for the day, returning to its mid-July lows below 11,000.[59][60] A series of bailout packages, including the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, proposed and implemented by the Federal Reserve and United States Department of the Treasury did not prevent further losses. After nearly six months of extreme volatility during which the Dow experienced its largest one-day point loss, largest daily point gain, and largest intraday range (of more than 1,000 points) at the time, the index closed at a new 12-year low of 6,547.05 on March 9, 2009,[61] its lowest close since April 1997. The Dow had lost 20% of its value in only six weeks.

Towards the latter half of 2009, the average rallied towards the 10,000 level amid optimism that the Great Recession, the United States housing bubble and the 2007–2008 financial crisis, were easing and possibly coming to an end. For the decade, the Dow saw a rather substantial pullback for a negative return from 11,497.12 to 10,428.05, a loss of a 9.3%.[62]

2010s

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The Dow from January 2000 through February 2015

During the first half of the 2010s decade, aided by the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy including quantitative easing, the Dow made a notable rally attempt. This was despite significant volatility due to growing global concerns such as the European debt crisis, the Dubai World 2009 debt standstill, and the 2011 United States debt-ceiling crisis.[citation needed]

On May 6, 2010, the Dow lost 9.2% intra-day and regained nearly all of it within a single hour. This event, which became known as the 2010 Flash Crash, sparked new regulations to prevent future incidents.[63]

Six years after its previous high in 2007, the Dow finally closed at a new record high on March 5, 2013.[64] It continued rising for the next several years past 17,000 points until a brief 2015–2016 stock market selloff in the second half of 2015.[65] It then picked up again in early 2016 and climbed past 25,000 points on January 4, 2018.[66]

On November 9, 2016, the day after Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election, the index soared, coming within roughly 25 points of its all-time intraday high to that point.[67]

Volatility returned in 2018 when the Dow fell nearly 20%.[68][69][70] By early January 2019, the index had quickly rallied more than 10% from its Christmas Eve low.[71]

Overall in the 2010s decade, the Dow increased from 10,428.05 to 28,538.44 for a substantial gain of 174%.[72]

2020s

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average daily closing value plotted on a log-10 scale

Despite the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, the Dow continued its bull run from the previous decade before peaking at 29,551.42 on February 12, 2020 (29,568.57 intraday on the same day). The index slowly retreated for the remainder of the week and into the next week, before coronavirus fears and an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia sent the index into a tailspin, recording several days of losses[73] (and gains[74]) of at least 1,000 points, a typical symptom of a bear market[75] as previously seen in October 2008 during the 2007–2008 financial crisis. Volatility rose high enough to trigger multiple 15-minute trading halts.[76] In the first quarter of 2020, the DJIA fell 23%, its worst quarter since 1987.[77] The market recovered in the third quarter, returning to 28,837.52 on October 12, 2020, and peaked momentarily at a new all-time high of 29,675.25 on November 9, 2020, at 14:00 ET, following that day's announcement of the success of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Phase III clinical trials.[78] The Dow (as reported by the United Press International) closed over 30,000 on December 31, 2020, at a record 30,606.48. On November 24, following news that the presidential transition of Joe Biden was approved, the Dow increased by more than 500 points, closing at 30,046.24. On January 22, 2024, the Dow Jones crossed 38,000 points for the first time; a month later it surpassed 39,000; and in May, it surpassed 40,000 points.

Computation

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The DJIA is computed as the sum of the prices of all thirty stocks divided by a divisor, the Dow Divisor. The divisor is adjusted in case of stock splits, spinoffs or similar structural changes, to ensure that such events do not in themselves alter the numerical value of the DJIA. Early on, the initial divisor was composed of the original number of component companies; this initially made the DJIA a simple arithmetic average. The present divisor, after many adjustments, is less than one, making the index larger than the sum of the prices of the components. That is:

 

where p are the prices of the component stocks and d is the Dow Divisor.

Events such as stock splits or changes in the list of the companies composing the index alter the sum of the component prices. In these cases, in order to avoid discontinuity in the index, the Dow Divisor is updated so that the quotations right before and after the event coincide:

 

Since April 1, 2024, the Dow Divisor is 0.15221633137872[79][80] and every $1 change in price in a particular stock within the average equates to a 6.5696 (or 1 ÷ 0.15221633137872) point movement.

Assessment

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Quality as a proxy of the stock market

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Despite its unusual weighting by price rather than market capitalization, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is highly correlated with other proxies of the US equities market, particularly the S&P 500 Index.[81] Between (1980-January-{{{day}}}) (2023-November-{{{day}}})January 1980 – November 2023, the DJIA returned an annualized 8.90%, with the S&P 500 returning a nearly identical 8.91%.[82]

Issues with market representation

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With the inclusion of only 30 stocks, critics such as Ric Edelman argue that the DJIA is an inaccurate representation of overall market performance compared to more comprehensive indices such as the S&P 500 Index or the Russell 3000 Index. Additionally, the DJIA is criticized for being a price-weighted index, which gives higher-priced stocks more influence over the average than their lower-priced counterparts, but takes no account of the relative industry size or market capitalization of the components. For example, a $1 increase in a lower-priced stock can be negated by a $1 decrease in a much higher-priced stock, even though the lower-priced stock experienced a larger percentage change. In addition, a $1 move in the smallest component of the DJIA has the same effect as a $1 move in the largest component of the average. For example, during September–October 2008, former component AIG's reverse split-adjusted stock price collapsed from $22.76 on September 8 to $1.35 on October 27; contributing to a roughly 3,000-point drop in the index.[83]

As of June 2021, Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth Group are among the highest-priced stocks in the average and therefore have the greatest influence on it. Alternately, Cisco Systems and Coca-Cola are among the lowest-priced stocks in the average and have the least sway in the price movement.[84] Critics of the DJIA and most securities professionals[who?] recommend the market-capitalization weighted S&P 500 Index or the Wilshire 5000, the latter of which includes most publicly listed U.S. stocks, as better indicators of the U.S. stock market.

Correlation among components

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A study between the correlation of components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average compared with the movement of the index finds that the correlation is higher when the stocks are declining. The correlation is lowest in a time when the average is flat or rises a modest amount.[85]

See also

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References

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Further reading

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