The Dow Jones Industrial Average is computed from the share price of the 30 largest and most widely held public companies in the United States and traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also known as the Dow 30 and informally known as the Dow Jones or The Dow is one of a few American stock market indices. The Dow Jones was compiled to gauge the performance of the industrial sector of the American stock market and is the second oldest American-Market index, after the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

The “industrial” in its name is purely historical and since its creation many of the 30 companies that make-up the index have little or nothing to do with traditional heavy industry.

For a list of companies on the Dow Jones