Dow Jones Equity Indices

Use Dow Jones index listings to guide your stock investments

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.

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.

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.

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.

• 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.

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