What Are the Current Dogs of the Dow

Short Guide to the Dow Jones Index

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It's safe to say that every investor knows about, or at the very least has heard of, the Dow Jones U.S. Index. It is an important tool that reflects activity in the U.S. stock market and can be a key indicator for consumers who are paying attention to economic activity.

Known both as the Down Jones U.S. Total Market Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Index, the index provides broad-based coverage of the U.S. stock market and is maintained by Dow Jones Indexes. It is considered a total market index and represents the top 95 percent of the U.S. stock market, based on market capitalization.

It is a very broad index and so includes sub-indexes that track major market segments, sorted by stock size, sector and so on.

What the Dow Indicates

One of the sub-indexes is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DGIA). As Investopedia notes, it is often called the Dow and is considered the leading indicator of Wall Street's health and that of the broader financial market. It is made up of 30 stocks, but they are considered to be the best blue-chip stocks in the United States. They have historically included stocks such as Boeing, McDonald's, Apple, Walmart, Disney and Home Depot.

About Dow ETFs

Within those stocks, investors frequently want to know about best ETFs for them. ETFs (Exchange-traded funds) are packages of securities bought and sold via brokerage firms on the stock exchange. They are available for a range of assets that include traditional investment strategies and alternative assets such as commodities or currencies, according to Fidelity.

Exchange-traded funds are one of the most significant tools that individual investors have been able to add to their portfolios in the current investing environment. ETFs offer considerable benefits. If they are chosen well, they can be an outstanding vehicle by which individual investors can meet their personal financial goals.

Four leading ETFs at the end of 2017, according to Investopedia, are as follows: the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF, the Ultra Dow30, the ProShares UltraPro Dow30 and the ELEMENTS Dogs of the Dow.

Historical Lessons Play Out

Because the DGIA is so influential in investing, its history is carefully tracked and can be instructive for investors and others watching the market in every country. Its strength or weakness serves as a kind of mirror of global confidence.

Charts are available online that help indicate the ways in which the Dow reflects the ways in which investors respond to global events. MarketWatch notes that it took 25 years for the market to recover from the stock market crash in 1929. Additionally, it took 16 years for stocks to come back after events in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the Vietnam war, the oil shortage and President Richard Nixon's resignation.

How the Dow Plays Over Time

General thinking about Dow and what charts indicate is that while fearsome global events have some short-term effect, bigger-picture thinking wins out over time. What this means is that investors should not shut down in times of uncertainty or chaos but stay flexible and be prepared to change out stocks and think innovatively.

Since it started in 1896, the Dow has risen more than 50,000% over its lifetime. The nominal gross domestic product of the United States has increased 118,583% in the same time period, according to Measuring Worth.

Future of the Dow

There is debate among some investors and financial institutions about how closely the Dow's actions should be followed and how much, and what, it really does indicate as a global financial barometer.

The general thinking is that it does reflect the U.S. economy and that it quickly reflects trends about the general market and some industries specifically. As long as it continues to contain stocks that reflect the major industrial areas of the U.S. economy during any given period, according to the Investopedia experts, the 30-stock index will likely remain the gold standard of financial indicators.

What Are the Current Dogs of the Dow

Source: https://www.life123.com/article/short-guide-to-the-dow-jones-index?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740009%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex

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