Note that since 2/12/1999 five companies (ALD, CHV, GT, S, and UK) were dropped from the DOW30 and that five companies (HD, HON, INTC, MSFT, and SBC) were added. Historically, the DOW has only tracked stocks listed on the NY Stock Exchange (NYSE); however, as the market capitalization of the NASDAQ stocks began to exceed those of the NYSE, the gods of the DOW relented and added INTC and MSFT.
It is also interessting to note that even with all the fluctuation that has occurred in recent years, the Dow on 2/12/99 was 9363 compared to 9748 on 10/29/03. One has to question how representative the Dow really is of the overall market. The easiest way to plot and track the DOW30 is monitor the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) DIA. |