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86-529: The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJIA ), Dow Jones , or simply the Dow ( / ˈ d aʊ / ), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indexes. Many professionals consider it to be an inadequate representation of the overall U.S. stock market compared to a broader market index such as

172-409: A brief 2015–2016 stock market selloff in the second half of 2015. It then picked up again in early 2016 and climbed past 25,000 points on January 4, 2018. 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. Volatility returned in 2018 when

258-573: A confidence. Dow wrote nine "Leadville Letters" based on his experiences there. He described the Rocky Mountains , the mining companies, and the boomtown's gambling , saloons , and dance halls. He also wrote of raw capitalism and the information that drove investments, turning people into millionaires in a moment. He described the disappearance of the individual mine-owners and the financiers who underwrote shares in large mining consortiums. In his last letter, Dow warned, "Mining securities are not

344-401: A four-day train trip to reach Colorado. Dow learned a great deal about the world of money on that journey as the men smoked cigars, played cards, and swapped stories. He interviewed many highly successful financiers and heard what sort of information the investors on Wall Street needed to make money. The businessmen seemed to like and trust Dow, knowing that he would quote them accurately and keep

430-511: A job offer, Dow married his wife Lucy, who had a daughter from a previous marriage. The couple had no children of their own. In 1902, Dow began to have health problems and Bergstresser wanted to retire. The two sold their shares of the company to Clarence Barron , their Boston correspondent. Dow wrote his last editorial in April 1902. About eight months later, on December 4, 1902, he died at his home at 161 Lefferts Place, Brooklyn , New York , at

516-543: A mark which was not matched until March 2013. 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. A series of bailout packages, including

602-471: 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

688-515: 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%. 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

774-527: A new 12-year low of 6,547.05 on March 9, 2009, 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

860-515: A paper of news and not a paper of opinions." The paper's motto was "The truth in its proper use." Its editors promised to put out a paper that could not be controlled by advertisers. The paper had a private wire to Boston and telegraph connections to Washington, Philadelphia, and Chicago. It also had correspondents in several cities, including London. Dow often warned his reporters about exchanging slanted stories for stock tips or free stock. Crusading for honesty in financial reporting, Dow would publish

946-547: 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. 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

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1032-600: A rather substantial pullback for a negative return from 11,497.12 to 10,428.05, a loss of a 9.3%. 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

1118-440: A real newspaper. The first issue of The Wall Street Journal appeared on July 8, 1889. It cost two cents per issue or five dollars for a one-year subscription. Dow was the editor and Jones managed the deskwork. The paper gave its readers a policy statement: "Its object is to give fully and fairly the daily news attending the fluctuations in prices of stocks , bonds , and some classes of commodities . It will aim steadily at being

1204-403: A roughly 3,000-point drop in the index. 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. Critics of the DJIA and most securities professionals recommend

1290-511: A series of principles for understanding and analyzing market behavior which later became known as Dow theory , the groundwork for technical analysis . Charles Henry Dow was born in Sterling, Connecticut , on November 6, 1851. When he was six years old his father, who was a farmer, died. The family lived in the hills of eastern Connecticut , not far from Rhode Island . Dow did not have much education or training, but he managed to find work at

1376-635: 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

1462-442: A stock index that complies with Sharia 's ban on alcohol, tobacco and gambling. Critics of such initiatives argue that many firms satisfy mechanical "ethical criteria" (e.g. regarding board composition or hiring practices) but fail to perform ethically with respect to shareholders (e.g. Enron ). Indeed, the seeming "seal of approval" of an ethical index may put investors more at ease, enabling scams. One response to these criticisms

1548-463: 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

1634-559: 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, 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

1720-529: 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,

1806-468: 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

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1892-530: 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. As of November 15, 2024,

1978-451: Is that trust in the corporate management, index criteria, fund or index manager, and securities regulator, can never be replaced by mechanical means, so " market transparency " and " disclosure " are the only long-term-effective paths to fair markets. From a financial perspective, it is not obvious whether ethical indices or ethical funds will out-perform their more conventional counterparts. Theory might suggest that returns would be lower since

2064-416: Is to establish from past data the relationship between these patterns and each important factor. Thereafter, by identifying the main factors which are presently working, we can predict the probable future movement of stock price. One of the most important contributions to stock market thought was his theory of the three movements in the market. At age 30, having moved to New York City the prior year to accept

2150-606: Is typically carried out in an open outcry auction, or over an electronic network such as CME's Globex platform. 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. The following table shows the annual development of the Dow Jones Index, which was calculated back to 1896. In 1884, Charles Dow composed his first stock average, which contained nine railroads and two industrial companies that appeared in

2236-835: 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 ) of

2322-433: The 2011 United States debt-ceiling crisis . 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. Six years after its previous high in 2007, the Dow finally closed at a new record high on March 5, 2013. It continued rising for the next several years past 17,000 points until

2408-619: The Calvert Social Index , Domini 400 Social Index , FTSE4Good Index , Dow Jones Sustainability Index , STOXX Global ESG Leaders Index, several Standard Ethics Aei indices, and the Wilderhill Clean Energy Index. Other ethical stock market indices may be based on diversity weighting (Fernholz, Garvy, and Hannon 1998). In 2010, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation announced the initiation of

2494-555: 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

2580-568: The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) in 1896. By tracking the closing stock prices of twelve companies, adding up their stock prices, and dividing by twelve, Dow came up with his average. The first such average appeared in the Wall Street Journal on May 26, 1896. Nowadays, the DJIA remains one of the oldest and popular stock indices in the world. On October 25, 1896, Dow replaced the 2 non-rail stocks in

2666-497: 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

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2752-516: The Japanese asset price bubble , and other political distractions. The index had only two negative years in the 1980s: in 1981 and 1984. 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 . Certain influential foreign conflicts such as

2838-518: 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 . 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 0.163 as of November 2024. The factor

2924-621: 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

3010-658: 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. 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, the largest one-day percentage drop occurred on Black Monday , October 19, 1987, when

3096-486: The dot-com bubble . 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. The Dow soared from 2,753 to 8,000 between January 1990 to July 1997. In October 1997,

3182-549: 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. Stock market index In finance , a stock index , or stock market index , is an index that measures the performance of a stock market , or of a subset of a stock market. It helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market performance. Two of

3268-550: 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. The Dow continued climbing and reached a record high of 14,198.10 on October 11, 2007,

3354-415: The 500 largest stocks from the S&P Total Market Index, but an equally weighted S&P 500 index is also available with the same coverage. Stock market indices may be categorized by their index weight methodology, or the rules on how stocks are allocated in the index, independent of its stock coverage. For example, the S&P 500 and the S&P 500 Equal Weight each cover the same group of stocks, but

3440-613: The Customers' Afternoon Letter. It soon achieved a circulation of over 1,000 subscribers and was considered an important news source for investors . It included the Dow Jones stock average, an index that included nine railroad issues, one steamship line, and Western Union . Simultaneously to his work in publishing, in 1885 Dow also served as a Partner in the NYSE brokerage house of Goodbody , Glynn and Dow where he remained until its dissolution six years later. His Partner, Robert Goodbody,

3526-528: The DJIA is possible via index funds as well as via derivatives such as option contracts and futures contracts . 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 ). ProShares offers leveraged ETFs that attempt to produce three times

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3612-530: The Dow Jones Industrial Average consists of the following companies, with a weighting as shown: As of November 8, 2024, the components of the DJIA have changed 59 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: Investing in

3698-400: The Dow fell nearly 20%. By early January 2019, the index had quickly rallied more than 10% from its Christmas Eve low. Overall in the 2010s decade, the Dow increased from 10,428.05 to 28,538.44 for a substantial gain of 174%. 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

3784-619: The Dow occurred despite the Recession of 1949 and various global conflicts. 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. 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. The 1970s marked

3870-535: The MSCI World index, such as the MSCI Emerging Markets index, include stocks from countries with a similar level of economic development, which satisfies the investor demand for an index for emerging market stocks that may share similar economic fundamentals. The coverage of a stock market index is separate from the weighting method. For example, the S&P 500 market-cap weighted index covers

3956-606: The Providence Evening Press. Jones, a Brown University dropout, could skillfully and quickly analyze a financial report. He, like Dow, was committed to reporting on Wall Street without bias. Other reporters could be bribed into reporting favorably on a company to drive up stock prices. Dow and Jones refused to manipulate the stock market. The two young men believed that Wall Street needed another financial news bureau. In November 1882, they started their own agency, Dow, Jones & Company. The business' headquarters

4042-461: 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

4128-478: The S&P 500 Index: price return, which only considers the price of the components, total return, which accounts for dividend reinvestment, and net total return, which accounts for dividend reinvestment after the deduction of a withholding tax . The Wilshire 4500 and Wilshire 5000 indices have five versions each: full capitalization total return, full capitalization price, float-adjusted total return, float-adjusted price, and equal weight. The difference between

4214-510: The S&P 500 is weighted by market capitalization , while the S&P 500 Equal Weight places equal weight on each constituent. Some common index weighting methods are listed below. In practice, many indices will impose constraints, such as concentration limits, on these rules. Some indices, such as the S&P 500 Index, have multiple versions. These versions can differ based on how the index components are weighted and on how dividends are accounted. For example, there are three versions of

4300-501: The US equities market, particularly the S&P 500 Index . 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%. 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

4386-545: 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. The DJIA

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4472-490: 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. Following World War I, the United States experienced another economic downturn, the Post–World War I recession . The Dow's performance remained unchanged from

4558-684: The age of 21 with the Springfield Daily Republican , in Massachusetts . He worked there from 1872 until 1875 as a city reporter for Samuel Bowles , who taught his reporters to write crisp, detailed articles. Dow then moved on to Rhode Island, joining the Providence Star , where he worked for two years as a night editor. He also reported for the Providence Evening Press . In 1877, Dow joined

4644-472: 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. 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 ,

4730-472: 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. The Dow experienced a long bull run from 1920 to late 1929 when it rose from 73 to 381 points. 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

4816-700: The daily result of either investing in ( NYSE Arca :  UDOW ) or shorting ( NYSE Arca :  SDOW ) the Dow Jones Industrial Average. 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

4902-509: The development of various industries and their future prospects. In 1877, he published a History of Steam Navigation between New York and Providence . Three years later, he published Newport: The City by the Sea . It was an account of Newport, Rhode Island 's settlement, rise, decline, and rebirth as a summer vacation spot and the location of a naval academy, training station, and war college. Dow reported on Newport real estate investments, recording

4988-406: 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, 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. In inflation-adjusted numbers, the high of 381.17 on September 3, 1929,

5074-488: 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

5160-523: The first quarter of 2020, the DJIA fell 23%, its worst quarter since 1987. 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. The Dow (as reported by

5246-626: The full capitalization, float-adjusted, and equal weight versions is in how index components are weighted. One argument for capitalization weighting is that investors must, in aggregate, hold a capitalization-weighted portfolio anyway. This then gives the average return for all investors; if some investors do worse, other investors must do better (excluding costs). Passive management is an investing strategy involving investing in index funds, which are structured as mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that track market indices. The SPIVA (S&P Indices vs. Active) annual "U.S. Scorecard", which measures

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5332-554: The ideal location for business and financial reporting was there. The 29-year-old found work at the Kiernan Wall Street Financial News Bureau, which delivered by messenger hand written financial news to banks and brokerages. When John J. Kiernan asked Dow to find another reporter for the Bureau, Dow invited Edward Davis Jones to work with him. Jones and Dow had met when they worked together at

5418-460: The index would need to close at about 2,000,000 by December 2099. 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

5504-741: 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. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and

5590-594: The investible universe is artificially reduced and with it portfolio efficiency. (It conflicts with the Capital Asset Pricing Model, see above.) On the other hand, companies with good social performances might be better run, have more committed workers and customers, and be less likely to suffer reputation damage from incidents (oil spillages, industrial tribunals, etc.) and this might result in lower share price volatility , although such features, at least in theory, will have already been factored into

5676-463: The market price of the stock. The empirical evidence on the performance of ethical funds and of ethical firms versus their mainstream comparators is very mixed for both stock and debt markets. Charles Dow Dow also co-founded The Wall Street Journal , which has become one of the most respected financial publications in the world. He also invented the Dow Jones Industrial Average as part of his research into market movements. He developed

5762-426: The midst of a lengthy bear market. 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. 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

5848-472: The money earned and lost during the city's history. He also wrote histories of public education and the prison system in the state. Danielson was so impressed with Dow's careful research that he assigned him to accompany a group of bankers and reporters to Leadville, Colorado , to report on silver mining. The bankers wanted the publicity in order to gain investors in the mines. In 1879, Dow and various tycoons , geologists , lawmakers , and investors set out on

5934-638: The movement of the Russian ruble . 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. 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,

6020-804: The names of companies that hesitated to give information about profit and loss. Soon after that, the newspaper gained power and respect from the reading public. Vermont Royster , a later editor of the Wall Street Journal , said Dow always believed business information was not the "private province of brokers and tycoons". In 1898, the Wall Street Journal put out its first morning edition. The paper now covered more than just financial news. It also covered war, which it reported without rhetoric, unlike many other papers. Dow also added an editorial column called "Review and Outlook" and "Answers to Inquirers," in which readers sent investment questions to be answered. Edward Jones retired in 1899, but Dow and Bergstresser continued working. Dow still wrote editorials, now focusing on

6106-416: The original twelve industrials that would eventually form Dow's most famous index. 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. 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

6192-452: The performance of indices versus actively managed mutual funds, finds the vast majority of active management mutual funds underperform their benchmarks, such as the S&P 500 Index, after fees. Unlike a mutual fund, which is priced daily, an exchange-traded fund is priced continuously and is optionable . Several indices are based on ethical investing , and include only companies that meet certain ecological or social criteria, such as

6278-548: The place that government held in American business. The Wall Street Journal set a precedent in reporting during the election of 1900 by endorsing a political candidate, the incumbent president William McKinley . The stock price average was created on July 3, 1884, by Charles Dow as part of the "Customer's Afternoon Letter". At its inception, it consisted of 11 companies—9 railroads and 2 non-rail companies, Pacific Mail Steamship and Western Union Telegraph. On September 23, 1889,

6364-470: The primary criteria of an index are that it is investable and transparent : The methods of its construction are specified. Investors may be able to invest in a stock market index by buying an index fund , which is structured as either a mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund , and "track" an index. The difference between an index fund's performance and the index, if any, is called tracking error . Stock market indices may be classified and segmented by

6450-420: The quotations right before and after the event coincide: Since November 8, 2024, the Dow Divisor is 0.16268413125742 and every $ 1 change in price in a particular stock within the average equates to a 6.146881 (or 1 ÷ 0.16268413125742) point movement. Despite its unusual weighting by price rather than market capitalization, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is highly correlated with other proxies of

6536-524: 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 (and gains) of at least 1,000 points, a typical symptom of a bear market as previously seen in October 2008 during the 2007–2008 financial crisis . Volatility rose high enough to trigger multiple 15-minute trading halts . In

6622-567: The set of underlying stocks included in the index, sometimes referred to as the "coverage". The underlying stocks are typically grouped together based on their underlying economics or underlying investor demand that the index is seeking to represent or track. For example, a 'world' or 'global' stock market index—such as the MSCI World or the S&P Global 100 —includes stocks from all over the world, and satisfies investor demand for an index for broad global stocks. Regional indices that make up

6708-463: The staff of the prominent Providence Journal . George W. Danielson , the editor there, had not wanted to hire the 26-year-old, but Dow would not take no for an answer. Upon learning that Dow had worked for Bowles for three years, Danielson reconsidered and gave Dow a job writing business stories. Dow specialized in articles on regional history, some of which were later published in pamphlet form. Dow made history come alive in his writing by explaining

6794-399: 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

6880-419: The thing for widows and orphans or country clergymen, or unworldly people of any kind to own. But for a businessman, who must take risks in order to make money; who will buy nothing without careful, thorough investigation; and who will not risk more than he is able to lose, there is no other investment in the market today as tempting as mining stock." In 1880, Dow left Providence for New York City, realizing that

6966-420: The “20 Active Stock” index was introduced. It included 18 railroad and 2 non-rail stocks. In the 1890s, Dow saw that the recession was ending. In 1893, many mergers began taking place, resulting in the formation of huge corporations. These corporations sought markets for their stock shares. The wildly speculative market meant investors needed information about stock activity. Dow took this opportunity to devise

7052-688: The “20 Active Stock” index with 2 rail stocks and the index became the Dow Jones Railroad Average (DJRA). The DJRA remained a rail average of 20 stocks until January 2, 1970, when the average was changed to the Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJTA)—9 railroad stocks were replaced by 9 airline and trucking stocks. In 1899, Dow started an editorial column in his newspaper in order to educate the general reader until his death in 1902. The column dealt mainly with stock market activities and economic matters. It

7138-428: Was an Irish citizen and thus at that time ineligible to own a seat. By 1891, both men would part ways. Robert would start his own firm entitled Robert Goodbody & Co , which would become the fifth largest brokerage firm in the United States, before being bought by Merrill Lynch in 1971. In 1889, the company had 50 employees. The partners realized that the time was right to transform their two-page news summary into

7224-540: Was in this column that he often put forward his ideas of stock price movements, which were the foundation of what was later called the Dow Theory. Unfortunately, his complete editorial writings are not available to the general reader. However, most of his writings can be found in the following books: The basic idea of Dow is that the stock price is affected by various factors interacting at the same time, leading to distinct patterns of stock price movement. The first step

7310-412: Was located in the basement of a candy store. Charles Bergstresser was the chief financier of the fledgling company, but chose to be a silent partner . Bergstresser's strength lay in his interviewing skills. Jones once remarked that he could make a wooden Indian talk and tell the truth. In November 1883, the company started putting out an afternoon two-page summary of the day's financial news called

7396-502: 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

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