The Dow Jones equity index is one of the main equity indexes people follow on a regular basis. Made up of 30 companies, it provides a wide breadth of where the market is trading both on a daily basis and over the course of time. Even if you don't own individual stocks, you are probably invested in some way in the Dow Jones companies. Mutual Funds, 401Ks and pension plans all commonly take positions in this index.

But if you're feeling overwhelmed by the idea of learning about the Dow Jones equity indices, don't be. With just a little research, you'll be speaking the Wall St. lingo in no time. Think of this little research as Dow Jones equity indices for beginners.

1. Learn about the Dow Jones equity markets by visiting their several official news and information websites.

2. Educate yourself on how the Dow Jones Index and other Dow Jones equity indices are calculated.

3. Take tutorials or receive training in how to trade the Dow Jones listings.

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Find out about the Dow Jones index by visiting the official website

The Dow Jones was created in 1896 and since that time has stood as a bench mark for how the broader equity market is doing. Having branched out from its original index, there are several indexes such as Dow Jones Industrial Average (which follows 30 companies), Dow Jones Transports (which follows transport companies), and even Dow Jones Utilities (which follows utility companies) among others equity indexes.

I recommend: Check out the website for DJ Averages.com. One of several official Dow Jones websites, they provide a "Resource Center" as well as other sections that describe the equity indices in layman terms. Also visit DJ Newswires.com. They offer an educational tutorial about how news affects the equity indices and stocks that are traded on the Dow Jones.

Find out how the Dow Jones Index is calculated

Now that you have a general basis of the different equity indexes, it's important to learn how that number is arrived at during and after each trading day. It seems like it must be terribly complicated, but remember that each Dow Jones Index only has a small sampling of equity stocks. After reading a few articles it will make perfect sense.

I recommend: Check out the website for The Motley Fool. A long-standing investment website, they offer a comprehensive guide to how the different equity indexes of the Dow Jones are calculated. Also check out the website for Stock Market for Beginners. They also have a guide which explains how the Dow Jones is calculated on a daily basis.

Attend training courses which focus on the Dow stock listings

When it comes to learning about the listings of the Dow Jones, it stands to reason that eventually you will want to learn to trade them for your portfolio. Take a course via online tutorial or at a seminar where trading Dow stock listings is discussed. Remember that aside from trading individual stocks, you may also trade Dow Jones index listings as well.

I recommend: Check out the Etrade website. They offer online tutorials in video format on everything from basic Dow Jones education and equity trading to advanced option strategies. Also check out the Online Trading Academy. They teach new traders the ropes of the market inclusive of strategies about trading the equity positions listed in the Dow Jones equity indices.

The purpose of Dow Jones equity indices is to help you, as an investor, know in which markets to invest your hard-earned money. They provide information on stock market trends so that you can see what stocks or sectors have been performing well so that you can make informed stock picks.

The most widely used Dow Jones index listings focus on a specific sector, namely the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Transportation Average and Utility Average. Another popular Dow Jones stock index is the Wilshire 5000. When considering Dow Jones listings, take the following into account:

1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is the standard for many financial professionals for current market trends. Newspapers, radio stations and television news programs quote the DJIA daily.

2. Dow Jones equity prides itself on the DJIA being one of the most diverse stock indexes available for the industrial sector.

3. The Wilshire 5000 is a total market Dow Jones index. It’s purpose it to represent all U.S. equity securities.

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Learn the system used to select Dow Jones index components

Components of the Wilshire 5000 must be a common stock, REIT or limited partnership and their securities must be primarily in the U.S. stock market. The Dow Jones index listing makes additions and subtractions of constituents at the close of business on the third Friday of each month, adding new companies that meet the criteria and removing those that no longer do. The Dow Jones listings focusing on market sectors, known as the Averages, don't have specific requirements for their constituents; they choose which stocks to include based upon reputation, continued growth, investor interest and representation of the sector.

I recommend: Obtain more information on the Wilshire 5000 index by visiting the Wilshire website. Visit the Dow Jones Indexes website for an overview on the Dow Jones Averages.

Use Dow Jones equity indices to measure sector stocks

The Dow Jones Averages measure the stock market in the industrial, transportation and utility sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) measures 30 industrial companies and is the most widely-known stock index available. 20 companies make up the Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJTA), representing the transportation industry and one of the oldest indexes available. The Dow Jones Utility Average (DJUA) represents 15 stocks in the utility market.

I recommend: Obtain up-to-date information on the DJIA at MSN Money. For more information on the DJTA, visit Street Authority. Find the current standing for the DJUA components on Yahoo! Finance.

Invest in the global market through Dow stock listings

While the Dow Jones Averages indices may fit your needs by providing the stock market trends specific U.S. sectors, Dow Jones' global indices provide information on the ever-growing global market. The Dow Jones World Index contains more than 2500 global companies; the top 10% of those 2500 companies make up the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World). They update this index on a yearly basis, including 5 subset indexes for easier investment strategies.

I recommend: Investopedia provides more information on Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Visit the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes website for more information on the methodology for selecting components of DJSI World.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consult with a financial adviser before investing in any stock, regardless of its record on a market index. There is risk involved in stock investments and no guaranteed return, so be sure you choose stocks that suit your financial situation.

Do you need to understand how the Dow Jones Equity indices work? You’ve been investing in the stock market for a while, and your business has yielded modest returns. However, you want to know how to monitor indexes so that you’ll be able to have a better gauge of how the market is performing.

Learning about the Dow Jones equity indices is simple. You can read financial websites to understand how they came to be and how they're calculated. Obtain Dow Jones equity indices education and training by doing the following:

1. Become familiar with the Dow Jones equity indices via courses or financial websites.

2. Obtain Dow Jones Equity indices education and training by participating in seminars or webinars.

3. Understand the Dow Jones Indexes via financial publications and providers.

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Learn about Dow Jones equity indices through taking courses or financial websites

You don't need to be a stockbroker to learn what the Dow Jones equity index is. Learn how the original Dow Jones index came to be. It is the oldest and most widely-regarded index used to gauge on how the market is doing. However, keep in mind there are several Dow Jones equity indices, such as the Dow Jones Industrial, Dow Jones Transportation, and Dow Jones Utilities. You can find these Dow Jones index listings in your newspaper or on stock chart providers' websites.

I recommend: Dow Jones Indexes provides comprehensive Dow Jones Indices education and training. Become familiar with the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Morningstar also offers good information the Dow Jones Index.

Attend seminars or webinars to receive Dow Jones Equity indices education and training

Seminars can provide in-depth information on the Dow Jones Equity indices. One of the topics keynote speakers might discuss is how to calculate the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index. This means that the average is determined based on each company's price. It's important to know that this average changes daily.

I recommend: PFGBEST provides webinars on Dow Jones Equity indices. You can view three webinars on the Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50 Index futures. You will also want to visit Chicago Board of Trade's website for seminars and webinars on Dow Jones Equity indices.

Learn about the various Dow Jones equity averages through financial publications and providers

As previously stated, there are several Dow Jones equity indices. You can find these Dow Jones listings on your broker's website or financial news websites, such as CNBC or Yahoo! Finance. There's a Dow Jones equity for any particular sector you want to follow. For example, if you want to track global stocks, the Dow Jones has global and world region indexes.

I recommend: Barrons offers comprehensive education on Dow Jones listings. You can learn about the risks and returns of the Dow Jones Global Portfolio Indexes. EcoWin, a financial and economic data provider, also provides databases on various Dow Jones equity indices. For example, you can learn about the Dow stock listings that make up the Dow Jones Internet Indexes.

The Dow Jones company offers a broad array of equity indices. An index allows you to quickly check the relative performance of a group of stocks in a sector of the economy or part of the world. Many people use a country's largest index as a measure of the performance of the country as a whole. Each index measures something different, so it is very important to be aware of the components of each index. To measure the performance of the biggest companies in the U.S., one could use the Dow Jones Industrial Average; for a specific group of companies, you might use the Dow Jones Transportation Average. To drill down by style of investing, you could use style indices.

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Dow Jones Industrial Average

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is the most commonly quoted index in the U.S. It is a measure of the stock price performance of the largest 30 companies in the U.S. Many people use the Dow Jones Industrial Average as an indicator of the performance of the whole economy, but this might be an exaggeration of the importance of this index.

I recommend: InvestorWords.com has a good discussion of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Dow Jones Transportation Average

The Dow Jones Transportation Average is the oldest average still calculated by the Dow Jones company. It is a measure of the performance of transportation stocks. Transportation stocks include shipping companies, airlines, and railroads. Like some other Dow Jones averages, the Dow Jones Transportation Average is a price-weighted average.

I recommend: StreetAuthority has a comprehensive explanation of the Dow Jones Transportation Average, including its components.

Dow Jones Utility Average

The Dow Jones Utility Average is the third of the main indices produced by the Dow Jones company, along with the industrial and transportation averages. The Dow Jones Utility Average includes 15 utility companies, and is a price-weighted index like its counterparts. People closely follow the Dow Jones Utility Average because of its relationship with interest rates.

I recommend: Money-zine.com has a good discussion of the Dow Jones Utility Average, including a list of relative weighting of its components.

Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index

Dow Jones produces more than just U.S. equity indexes. To get an idea of how the most important 50 companies in the world are doing, you can simply use the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index. As the name suggests, this index tracks the performance of the biggest 50 multinational firms in the world that have a stock listing somewhere in the world.

I recommend: The information on Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index on the Investopedia website is worth looking into.

Sector index

A sector index tracks the performance of the companies in a particular sector of the economy. A sector is the broadest sub-group of the businesses in an economy. For example, Consumer Durables is a sector of the U.S. economy. Within each sector are many industries. Since some sectors perform better than others do at certain times, it can be helpful to see the economy separated into such broad categories.

I recommend: Nasdaq has a helpful article discussing sector indexes.

Style index

There are several portfolio management styles out there and it can be difficult to measure the performance of a particular portfolio. A style index is a benchmark measure of the returns from a particular investing style using available stocks. The Dow Jones company produces several style indices, so whatever your style of investing, they have a benchmark for you.

I recommend: The Dow Jones Indexes website has a very helpful discussion of style indices.