Dow Jones: A Look at the Industrial Average

What is the Dow Jones Industrial Average?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a stock market index that tracks the stock performance of 30 large, publicly-traded companies in the United States. It is one of the oldest and most widely followed stock indices in the world, and is often used as a barometer of the overall health of the U.S. stock market.

History of the Dow Jones Industrial Average

The DJIA was created in 1896 by Charles Dow and Edward Jones, the founders of Dow Jones & Company. The index originally included 12 companies, but the number was later expanded to 30. The companies included in the DJIA are selected by the editors of The Wall Street Journal, and are typically large, well-established companies that are leaders in their respective industries.

Components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average

The 30 companies that make up the DJIA are:

• 3M
• American Express
• Apple
• Boeing
• Caterpillar
• Chevron
• Cisco
• Coca-Cola
• Disney
• Dow
• Goldman Sachs
• Home Depot
• IBM
• Intel
• JPMorgan Chase
• Johnson & Johnson
• McDonald's
• Merck
• Microsoft
• Nike
• Pfizer
• Procter & Gamble
• Salesforce
• Travelers
• UnitedHealth
• Verizon
• Visa
• Walgreens Boots Alliance

Importance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average

The DJIA is a widely followed index that is often used as a barometer of the overall health of the U.S. stock market. It is also used as a benchmark for many investment portfolios, and is often used to track the performance of individual stocks and sectors. The DJIA is a valuable tool for investors and analysts, and provides a snapshot of the current state of the U.S. stock market.