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| | The '''Dow Jones Industrial Average''', commonly known as the '''[[Dow Jones]]''' or simply the '''Dow''', is a [[stock]] price index based on thirty prominent [[stocks]] on the [[New York Stock Exchange]]. [[File:Dow1925-2009.jpg|400px|thumb|Dow Jones index since 1925, in constant 2009 dollars]] The DJIA can be traded under the stock symbol DIA. The other two major indexes are the "S&P500" (which can be traded under the symbol "SPY") and "NASDAQ" (the trading symbol "QQQ" somewhat tracks that index). | | The '''Dow Jones Industrial Average''', commonly known as the '''[[Dow Jones]]''' or simply the '''Dow''', is a [[stock]] price index based on thirty prominent [[stocks]] on the [[New York Stock Exchange]]. [[File:Dow1925-2009.jpg|400px|thumb|Dow Jones index since 1925, in constant 2009 dollars]] The DJIA can be traded under the stock symbol DIA. The other two major indexes are the "S&P500" (which can be traded under the symbol "SPY") and "NASDAQ" (the trading symbol "QQQ" somewhat tracks that index). |
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| − | The Dow Jones Industrial Average is the average of these thirty stocks, and is a commonly used indicator of general trends in the prices of [[stock]]s and [[bond]]s in the [[United States]]. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published by ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' editor Charles Dow in 1896 with twelve stocks. The only stock of the original twelve that is still a part of the Average is [[General Electric]]. | + | The Dow Jones Industrial Average is the average of these thirty stocks, and is a commonly used indicator of general trends in the prices of [[stock]]s and [[bond]]s in the [[United States]]. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published by ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' editor Charles Dow in 1896 with twelve stocks. The only stock of the original twelve that is still a part of the Average is [[General Electric]]. |
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| − | Due to the erosion of manufacturing jobs in the [[United States]] resultant from harmful [[free trade]] policies, the Dow is not really "industrial" any more. | + | Unlike other indexes, the stocks in the Dow are weighted according to the price of one share of each company's stock, rather than by its market capitalization (overall company value). Thus the higher the stock price, the greater weight it has in the Dow. This tends to eliminate companies maintaining high prices for their shares, such as Amazon and Google, from being considered for inclusion in the Dow. The last time the Dow changed its component stocks was in March 2015, The last time the Dow changed its component stocks was in March 2015, when it replaced AT&T (T) with Apple (AAPL). Due to the erosion of manufacturing jobs in the [[United States]] resultant from harmful [[free trade]] policies, the Dow is not really "industrial" any more. |
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| − | Here are the 30 stocks in the "Dow" several of which are retail stocks or dependent on retail sales (e.g., AXP, CSCO, HD, KO, MCD, PG, V, and WMT):
| + | As of June 2017 here are the 30 stocks in the "Dow" several of which are retail stocks or dependent on retail sales (e.g., AXP, CSCO, HD, KO, MCD, PG, V, and WMT): |
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| | *AXP - American Express Co | | *AXP - American Express Co |