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130 YEARS OF THE DOW: FROM 40 POINTS TO 50,000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI, one of the most widely followed U.S. stock indexes, which has existed through some of the biggest market moments in U.S. history, turns 130 years old this week.

Created by Charles Dow in May 1896, it was initially made up of 12 stocks that included a leather-maker, a steel provider, and a sugar producer and closed at a value of 40.94 points.

The initial calculations were quite simple. The index reflected the stock price of the 12 companies and divided the sum by 12. Since then, the benchmark has expanded to 30 stocks and is price-weighted, different from the S&P 500 .SPX, which works on a market-cap-weighted basis.

The market's elder statesman has been through a stream of economic crises, wars, and technological revolutions over the years but scaled new highs in 2026, with it clocking an all-time high level of 50,830.24 points just last week.

The blue-chip average, also more commonly known as just the "Dow," has seen its market cap swell to more than $22.7 trillion as of April 30, according to S&P Global Dow Jones data.

Historically, the Dow's worst day came on December 12, 1914, when the New York Stock Exchange reopened after being closed for over four months to prevent a market panic due to the outbreak of war in Europe.

Coincidentally, its best day on record also came after the market reopened following a break, this time in March 1933 following former President Franklin D. Roosevelt's emergency bank holiday at the height of the Great Depression.

Currently, Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs GS.N and construction equipment company Caterpillar CAT.N hold the biggest weights on the index, while sportswear brand Nike NKE.N and telecom firm Verizon VZ.N have the smallest weights.

(Shashwat Chauhan)

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