Dow Jones

The Dow Jones refers to several stock market indices created by Charles Dow and his business partner Edward Jones. The most commonly known is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which measures the stock performance of 30 large, publicly-owned companies based in the United States. The DJIA is a price-weighted index, meaning that companies with higher stock prices have a greater influence on the index's overall movement. It serves as a barometer for the overall health of the U.S. stock market and economy. Other Dow Jones indices include the Dow Jones Transportation Average and the Dow Jones Utility Average, which track specific sectors of the market. The term "Dow Jones" is often used interchangeably with the DJIA when discussing market performance and economic indicators.