Share repurchases among the S&P 500 companies were 59% higher in the first quarter of 2014 than the first quarter in 2013. It was the largest amount since 2007, right before the stock market crashed. The Dow is also a price-weighted index instead of being weighted by market capitalization. This means that stocks in the index with higher share prices have greater influence, even if they are smaller companies overall in terms of market value.

Quality as a proxy of the stock market

The easiest way to invest in the Dow may be to buy shares in State Street Global Advisors‘ SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust, which trades under the ticker symbol DIA. The index had three nine-day runs, last occurring in 1955 (when there were four nine-day stretches). The Dow continuously moved higher eight months in a row (the last occurrence of this was in 1995). On July 3, the Dow hit a new high when the Trump administration announced it would resume trade negotiations with China, averting additional tariffs (taxes on imports). The blue-chip index piled on one percent to end the day at 44,296.51, narrowly overtaking a record set earlier hire top java developers this month.

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Friday

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space. Exxon acquiring Pioneer for nearly $60 billion, a mysterious respiratory illness affecting dogs across the U.S. and the challenges against transgender health care. Before joining Forbes, he covered the Black Mountain, North Carolina community for the Asheville Citizen Times. Ty earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Auburn University and his master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. The downturn reflected a 10-month recession, from July 1953 to May 1954, during the military demobilization following the Korean War.