The Dow Jones Industrial Average
Founded in 1896 with 12 stocks the Dow Jones Industrial Average is one of the oldest stock market indices.
There are 30 Dow Jones Stocks designed to serve as a bellwether for the general US stock market.
Other major stock indices include
- Technology heavy NASDAQ Composite; and
- S&P 500 index - it is broad representation of the US markets.
FAANG
This term has become the favourite of the financial media and represents the five largest and most famous companies of the world.
These are
- Facebook - is the largest social media platform in the world
- Apple - is the largest listed US company (in terms of market capitalisation)
- Amazon - is the largest b to c e-commerce company in the world
- Netflix - is one of the biggest buyers of films and Tv productions in world
- Google - is the largest search engine in world
The term was coined by Jim Cramer, the television host of Mad Money, in 2013 who praised these companies for being "totally dominant in their markets"
Originally the term FANG was used with Apple - the second "A" in the acronym added in 2017.
Together the FAANG stocks constitute about 15% of the S&P 500, a staggering number, considering the S&P is generally viewed as a proxy for the United States economy.
Performance of FAANG stocks - year to date
Facebook Stock is up 38% since the beginning of year
Amazon Stock is up 76% since the beginning of year
Apple Stock is up 62% since the beginning of year
Netflix Stock is up 59% since the beginning of year
Google Stock is up 19% since the beginning of year
Paradigm Shift
These stocks reflect the dominance of technology in our daily lives - a paradigm shift which defines the new age of "digital world".
It also provides an indication of which type of business are likely to create wealth for investors in future.
(Disclaimer : This blog is for education purposes and not to provide any advise or solicit any business. Stock market investing is a with risk investing including risk on the capital invested. Please take an informed decision)
