Dow Jones Averages

Oldest and most widely quoted measures of price changes in the market value of the shares of the blue chip US firms taken to represent the US stockmarket as a whole. It comprises of four averages which are price weighted (see weight) and computed at the end of each trading day on the New York Stock Exchange: (1) Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) debuted in 1896, it tracks the shares of 30 industrial firms, (2) Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJTA) debuted in 1884, it tracks shares of 20 airlines, railroad and trucking firms, (3) Dow Jones Utility Average (DJUA) debuted in 1929, it tracks shares of 15 electric and gas power firms, and (4) Dow Jones Composite Average (DJCA) it tracks the shares of all 65 companies that make up the above three averages.