A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Nov. 14, 1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 1,000 level for the first time, ending the day at 1,003.16.
Since first closing at 62.76 on Feb. 16, 1885, the Dow had been on a steady trend upward. Hitting 1,000 was a pretty big deal and the Deseret News pointed out the news.
“History on Wall Street,” read the headline of the day.
So how did the Dow Jones Index come to be?
In 1885, Charles Henry Dow, an American journalist who co-founded The Wall Street Journal, determined to found Dow Jones & Company with Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser.
They later invented the Dow Jones Industrial Average as part of their research into market movements.
Today, the Dow is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indexes in the world.
Here are some key moments in the Dow’s history:
- On July 3, 1884, Dow Jones publishes its first average of U.S. stocks in the Customer’s Afternoon Letter, forerunner of The Wall Street Journal.
- The Dow Jones industrial average first appears on May 26, 1896.
- On Jan. 12, 1906, the Dow closes above 100 for the first time, at 100.25.
- It hit 381.17 on Sept. 3, 1929, but plummeted a month later.
- The Dow rose above 500 in 1956.
- Two years after rising above 1,000, the Dow closed at a 12-year-low of 577.60 on Dec. 6, 1974.
- The Dow broke 2,000 in 1987, then went over 3,000 in 1991, then above 5,000 on Nov. 21, 1995.
- On Oct. 27, 1997, three months after going over 8,000, the Dow plunged 554 points, but trading was halted a couple of times to restore in a declining market.
- On April 6, 1998, the Dow first closes above 9,000, at 9,033.23.
- On March 16, 1999, the Dow Jones industrial average hit the 10,000 mark for the first time, a remarkable milestone considering that it took 88 years for it to reach 1,000 in 1972 and only 27 years to make the leap to 10,000.
- The Dow went over 20,000 on Jan. 25, 2017, then eclipsed the 30,000 plateau on Nov. 24, 2020, despite the world’s pandemic halting some business pursuits.
In May of this year, the Dow went above 40,000, closing at 40,003.59 on May 17.
Not do be outdone, on Monday, the Dow closed above 44,000 for the first time.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the Dow Jones Industrial Average and stock market history:
“Some highlights - and lowlights - of the Dow Jones index”
“5-digit Dow sparks euphoria and disbelief”
“Dow is more than your average index”
Dow fever isn’t for low rollers
Dow plunges 96.24 after Fed confirms news of boost in rates”
“Dow rise to near 5,000 a symbolic threshold”
Dow Jones tops 4,000 — first time ever”
“Stock market wasn’t so different in 1899″
