Dow Jones Industrial Average

History

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was created by Charles Dow and first published on May 26, 1896. The average initially consisted of 12 stocks. It was compiled as a method for guaging the overall performance of the industrial stocks of the American stock markets.

Today the average contains 30 stocks and is no longer limited to industrial companies. The stocks represented are 30 of the largest and most widely held stocks in the US stock market. Many people follow this important index as a way of tracking the overall performance of the stock market.

Key Levels

• 40.94 - When the Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published on May 26, 1896, the index was 40.94.
• 381.17 - The DJIA reached a peak price of 381.17 on September 3, 1929 before the ensuing stock market crash.
• 40.56 - Following the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, the index fell to a low of 40.56 on July 8, 1932.
• 1,003.16 - The Dow closed above the 1,000 level for the first time on November 14, 1972. The closing price was 1,003.16
• 5,023.55 - The Dow closed above 5,000 for the first time on November 21, 1995.
• 10,006.78 - The Dow closed above 10,000 on March 29, 1999, prompting widespread celebration.
• 11,722.98 - The record closing price reached on January 14, 2000 at the height of the dot com bull market.
• 7,286.27 - The "bottom" for the Dow reached on October 9, 2002 following the dot com bust and terrorist attack.
• 14,164.53 - The record high closing price for the Dow reached on October 9, 2007 before subprime mortgage and financial turmoil began to firmly grip the market.

Original Dow Jones Industrial Average Stocks

• American Cotton Oil Company
• American Sugar Company
• American Tobacco Company
• Chicago Gas Company
• Distilling & Cattle Feeding Company
• General Electric
• Laclede Gas Light Company
• National Lead Company
• North American Company
• Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company
• U.S. Leather Company
• United States Rubber Company

Current Dow Jones Industrial Average Stocks

• 3M
• Alcoa
• American Express
• American Interational Group
• AT&T
• Bank of America
• Boeing
• Caterpillar
• Chevron
• Citigroup
• Coca-Cola
• DuPont
• ExxonMobil
• General Electric
• General Motors
• Hewlett-Packard
• Home Depot
• Intel
• IBM
• Johnson & Johnson
• JPMorgan Chase
• McDonald's
• Merck
• Microsoft
• Pfizer
• Proctor & Gamble
• United Technologies
• Verizon Communications
• Walmart
• Walt Disney