Big Blue - The Dow's Big Mover
By: Robert Hum
The Dow broke below 10,000 back on August 26, but has been on a tear ever since. For nearly 2 months now, the index has shot up almost in a straight line, and now rests just 61 points below its 52-week closing high (11,205) set back in April. In fact, since August 26, only one Dow stock (American Express ) has turned in a decline during the period.
Big Blue’s the Big Mover
Although shares are trading lower despite a strong Q3 earnings report, IBM has been the big
mover on the Dow during the market’s current rally. Since August 26, IBM has outperformed the Dow (up 16% for IBM vs. 12% for the Dow). More impressively, Big Blue has contributed a hefty 13% of the Dow’s total gains (147 out of 1,158 Dow points) – the most of any of the 30 stocks in the blue chip index.
IBM’s strong contribution is important, but not necessarily unexpected. IBM is the highest-priced stock in the Dow Industrials, and as a result, it has the greatest weighting in the price-weighted index.
Here is a look at how each of the Dow 30 stocks have contributed to the index’s hot streak since August 26, 2010:
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