BetterTrades students know that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is the oldest and most-watched index of stocks in the world. The Dow is a price-weighted average of 30 significant stocks that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. The index was created by Charles Dow in 1896 and has remained relevant since.

When news commentators report that the market moved up 200 points, they're referring to the Dow.

The 30 stocks in the Dow are: 3m, Alcoa, American Express, AT&T, Bank of America, Boeing, Caterpillar, Chevron, Citigroup, du Pont, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, IBM, Johnson and Johnson, J.P. Morgan and Chase, Kraft Foods, McDonald's, Merck, Microsoft, Pfizer, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Procter and Gamble, United Technologies, Verizon, Wal-Mart, and Walt Disney.