Annual performance of the Dow Jones Composite Index 2000-2023

The Dow Jones Composite Index finished the year 2023 at 12,249.97 points, an increase compared to the previous year. Even with the economic effects of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2021 had the highest point of the index in the past two decades. Statista offers a dedicated, freely accessible website with information on COVID-19 around the world.

What is Dow Jones Composite Index?

The Dow Jones Composite Index is one of the indices from the Dow Jones index family. It is composed of 65 leading U.S. companies: 30 stocks forming the Dow Jones Industrial Average index, 20 stocks from the Dow Jones Transportation index and 15 stocks from the Dow Jones Utility Average index.

Importance of stock indices

A stock market index shows an average performance of companies from a given section of the market. It is usually a weighted average, meaning that such factors as price of companies or their market capitalization are taken into consideration when calculating the index value.
Stock indices are very useful for the financial market participants, as they instantly show the sentiments prevailing on a given market. They are also commonly used as a benchmark against portfolio performance, showing if a given portfolio has outperformed, or underperformed the market.