The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a stock market index that tracks the price-weighted performance of a select set of stocks. The DJIA in particular tracks 30 blue-chip stocks that collectively represent some of the most valuable companies in the US economy. It was created by Charles Dow, the editor of The Wall Street Journal and the co-founder of Dow Jones & Company, and named after him and his business associate, statistician Edward Jones. When the market is said to be headed up or down, it is typically referring to the DJIA.
