Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)

Definition

Price weighted (see weight) average of 30 actively traded shares of the blue chip US industrial corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The trend in the movement of the market value of these shares is considered to be an indicator of the movement of the entire US stockmarket. The corporations included in DJIA change from time to time and generally represent about 20 percent of the market value of all shares traded on NYSE. DJIA is quoted in points—not in dollars—and is the world’s best-known stockmarket index. It was published first time on May 26, 1896 by the US journalist Charles Dow (1851-1902), founder of the Dow Jones & Co. and the Wall Street Journal, and propounder of the Dow theory.