The first Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was published, on May 26, 1896,with a daily closing value of 40.94 this average was calculated using the share prices of 12 industrial stocks.
The stocks were: American Cotton Oil, American Sugar, American Tobacco, Chicago Gas, Distilling & Cattle Feeding, General Electric, Laclede Gas, National Lead, North American, Tennessee Coal and Iron, U.S. Leather, and U.S. Rubber. The Index was created by Charles Dow, co-founder of the Wall Street Journal, and his business associate, statistician Edward Jones. Currently, the DJIA tracks the performance of 30 leading U.S. companies, providing a snapshot of the overall stock market.
