Dow average pays a price as Exxon gives way to Salesforce

The Dow Jones Industrial Average would have been decidedly better off without a change made more than six months ago. Exxon Mobil Corp., which had been in the Dow since 1928, was removed and Salesforce.com Inc. took its place. Exxon climbed 53% from Aug. 31, the date of its ouster, through Friday. Only Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. posted bigger gains in the period among the average’s 30 stocks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Salesforce, on the other hand, was the Dow industrials’ worst performer. The business-software maker fell 23% and cost the average about 400 points, or 1.3%.

Dow's newest stocks leave their predecessors behind

The Dow Jones Industrial Average’s three newest members have the potential to bolster its performance, if recent history is any guide. All three outdid their predecessors after the Dow’s components changed in June 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Salesforce.com Inc. set the pace by more than doubling, largely because of a well-received earnings report last week. Amgen Inc. and Honeywell International Inc. also gained. Among the companies they replaced, only Pfizer Inc. rose for the period. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp. posted losses.

 

Apple sheds `curse of the Dow,' leads average's gain

Apple Inc. has overcome the “curse of the Dow,” according to Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at Convergex Group LLC. This month brought a reversal for the iPhone maker, which had trailed the Dow Jones Industrial Average most of the time since being added in March 2015. As Apple moved ahead, the stock became the biggest contributor to the Dow’s gain this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Colas highlighted the performance in a report Friday.