Dow Jones

Dow Jones Industrial Average (“Dow 30”; founded in 1896): shows how thirty large, public companies traded in a day. This number is not literally the average of the thirty companies. Stock prices are added up and the divided by a divisor.

*The Dow 30 is not only effected by the companies themselves, but also by world  events, such as natural disasters, terrorism, political elections, and war. 

“Panic of 1901”: the New York Stock Exchange’s first stock market crash, was due to the bulk purchasing of Northern Pacific Railway. The investor was attempting to monopolize the Chicago rail market. As prices fell, people began to yell, “Sell! Sell! Sell!”.

“Panic of 1907”: the first bank crisis for the market, was caused by a series of events such as the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the collapse of the copper industry, and the lack of a centralized bank in the US. J.P. Morgan gathered up wealthy bankers to bail out the failed banks. 

World War I: panic over the oncoming war caused the market to close for about five months. The Sherman Antitrust Act also caused panic in investors. This act was created to pursue financial criminals and prevent monopolies. 

The 1929 Crash and the Great Depression: was the worst crash in history. This event effected all Western industrialized countries and the downturn lasted for 10 years. 

Post World War II: caused the market to increase because of rebuilding and hope for peace and prosperity. Despite other conflicts with American intervention, the market continued to do well.

Dot Com Boom: in the 1990s, rapid advances in technology brought a 10 year boom. People were uncertain about the 2000s and this marked the end of the boom.

Sept. 17th, 2001: following the attacks of 9/11, the market suffered from a large drop. However, the market had already been on a downward trend for the year.

Financial Crisis (2008): the first signs came when the Lehman Brothers, global financial services, filed for bankruptcy. This was the largest filed bankruptcy in US history. The Troubled Asset Relief Program, signed by George W. Bush, addressed this crisis. 

Company	Symbol	Industry
3M	MMM	Conglomerate
Alcoa	AA	Aluminum
American Express	AXP	Consumer finance
AT&T	T	Telecommunication
Bank of America	BAC	Banking
Boeing	BA	Aerospace and defense
Caterpillar	CAT	Construction and mining equipment
Chevron Corporation	CVX	Oil & gas
Cisco Systems	CSCO	Computer networking
Coca-Cola	KO	Beverages
DuPont	DD	Chemical industry
ExxonMobil	XOM	Oil & gas
General Electric	GE	Conglomerate
Hewlett-Packard	HPQ	Technology
The Home Depot	HD	Home improvement retailer
Intel	INTC	Semiconductors
IBM	IBM	Computers and technology
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	Pharmaceuticals
JPMorgan Chase	JPM	Banking
Kraft Foods	KFT	Food processing
McDonald's	MCD	Fast food
Merck	MRK	Pharmaceuticals
Microsoft	MSFT	Software
Pfizer	PFE	Pharmaceuticals
Procter & Gamble	PG	Consumer goods
Travelers	TRV	Insurance
United Technologies Corporation	UTX	Conglomerate
Verizon Communications	VZ	Telecommunication
Wal-Mart	WMT	Retail
Walt Disney	DIS	Broadcasting and entertainment