The chipmaker Nvidia will replace its rival Intel on the stock index. And the paint company Sherwin-Williams will sub in for the chemical giant Dow.
Our listener asks what constitutes a “point” on the major stock market indexes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, filled with household-name companies, “has a special place in the imagination.”
Investors were encouraged by the latest vaccine progress and news that the transition of power in the U.S. will finally begin.
Bellwether market index also adds Honeywell and Amgen and expels Exxon and others. Move reflects tech’s expanding role in the economy.
The S&P 500 index dropped nearly 3% as the market erased all of its gains from a rally the day before.
Jason Zweig says recent drops in the Dow are not cause for concern.
Companies that have been big winners, including tech firms, suffered steep declines.
But the bigger context is volatility in the markets has actually been falling over the last 30 years.
