What is the Dow Jones Industrial Average?
If you watch the news, you hear all the time about the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other averages like the S&P 500 or The Russel 2000. These are “market averages” designed to tell you how companies traded on the stock market are doing in general. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is simply the average value of 30 large, industrial stocks. Big companies like General Motors, Goodyear, IBM and Exxon are the kinds of companies that make up this index. See Dow Jones & Company for details on how the average is calculated. See The Investment FAQ for a list of t
By Mike Rowan on February 17, 2009 | More Posts By Mike Rowan | Author’s Website Most investors that I speak with are very aware of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI). After all, you can’t turn on the tv nowadays without seeing the familiar gyrations of the index listed somewhere on the screen. However, many do not have further insight into the Dow Jones Average, and more importantly, how it works. I have put together a brief explanation, along with a list of the DJIA companies currently included.. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index – (DJIA) Is a price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue chip stocks, primarily industrials but including American Express Co. (AXP) and American Telephone and Telegraph Co (T). Prepared and published by Dow Jones & Co., it is the oldest and most widely quoted of all the market indicators. The components, which change from time to time, represent between 15% and 20% of the market value of NYSE stocks. The DJIA is calculated by adding the clo
