Among the few "price-weighted" indices, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has taken the lead in reaching a new high, with Microsoft being the driving force behind it!
Microsoft's stock price rise drives the Dow Jones to a new high, with Microsoft being the main driver of the Dow's rise. As the second-highest priced stock among the Dow's components, Microsoft has seen a gain of over 56% this year. The Dow Jones is a "price-weighted" index, meaning that companies with higher stock prices have a greater impact on the Dow's performance. In the long term, Unitedhealth, the company with the highest stock price among the Dow's components, has also made a significant contribution to the Dow's new high. The Dow Jones benefits from the inclusion of blue-chip stocks, which have lower trading price levels and a positive outlook for the future.
Benefiting from the AI boom, Microsoft's stock price has been soaring, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) to reach new highs.
As expected by the market, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged overnight, boosting expectations of rate cuts next year and causing all three major stock indices to open higher. At the close, the DJIA rose by 512.3 points, or 1.4%, to 37,090.24 points, marking the first time in history that it closed above 37,000 points and reaching a new high in nearly two years.
The DJIA is characterized as a "price-weighted" index, meaning that the index is only related to the prices of the constituent companies. The higher the stock price of a company, the greater its impact on the movement of the DJIA.
In the short term, Microsoft has made the biggest contribution. As the second-highest priced stock among the DJIA constituents, Microsoft has been on a strong upward trend this year. Since the DJIA hit a 52-week low in March, Microsoft's stock price has risen by over 790 points, driving the DJIA higher.
As the largest investor in OpenAI, Microsoft has benefited from the AI boom, with its stock price rising by over 56% this year and reaching a historical high last month.
In the long term, UnitedHealth, the company with the highest stock price among the DJIA constituents, has made a significant contribution. Since reaching a new high at the beginning of 2022, UnitedHealth's stock price has risen by over 380 points.
Some analysts believe that UnitedHealth has also benefited from the hype around Ozempic, a "miracle weight-loss drug," as it has a strong say in the pricing and target users of the new weight-loss drug. UnitedHealth's stock price has risen by 5.8% this year, hovering near its historical high.
Another reason for the DJIA's new high is that the constituent stocks of the DJIA are mostly blue-chip stocks with excellent performance, large market capitalization, active trading, and generous dividends. Compared to the broader S&P 500 and the tech and growth stock-focused Nasdaq, the DJIA faces less upward pressure.
Lastly, another possible reason is that the trading price level of the DJIA is relatively low compared to other indices. According to media analysis, the trading price of the DJIA is about 17 times the expected earnings for the next 12 months, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are at 19 times and 26 times, respectively.
Concerns about inflation, interest rate hikes, geopolitical conflicts, and potential economic downturns have caused the DJIA to fall by about 12% this year, setting a record for the longest period without new highs since the 1,359-day period from the 2008-09 financial crisis to March 2013.
Brett Bernstein, CEO of XML Financial Group, commented:
"It is not surprising that the DJIA has reached new highs, and it may break through this high point in the next 12-18 months." We are about to witness a real rebound. Not a rebound from the low point, but a rebound from the high point.