Wow.
It may not be experiencing quite the same year-to-date appreciation as bitcoin – nor its volatility, mind you – but by all accounts the Dow Jones Industrial Average has had a remarkable run in 2017. And, powered Thursday by a gain of 331.67 points (+1.39%), it topped 24,000 for the first time in history.
A few highlights:
- As of Thursday’s close, the DJIA is up 22.82%. If that level holds, this year will trail only 2013 (with a gain of 26.50%) as the best performing year in the past decade.
- With 63 new highs already this year, 2017 ranks as the third most prolific year in history, trailing only 1995 and 1925 in the #1 and #2 slots respectively. There have been 52 calendar years when the DJIA notched at least 1 new high and 70 when none were recorded; see below for the top 10 calendar years.
- With 5 new 1000 point milestones already (20k, 21k, 22k, 23k & 24k), this year is the most active such period on record. It took nearly twice as long for the DJIA to hit the first 1000 points as it has for all subsequent milestones combined.
- Similarly, the speed with which the DJIA is crossing these thresholds is notable: it has taken only 257 trading days to run through those 5 marks. By comparison, it took 483 days for the DJIA to move from 18k to 19k. Of course, there is a big caveat: it’s important to continue to note that as the DJIA gains in value each successive 1000 point milestone represents a smaller percentage gain.
- The DJIA has gained nearly 271% from the low of 6,547.05 hit on March 9, 2009 during the depths of the Financial Crisis.
- Through Thursday’s close, Boeing (BA) with 830.35, UnitedHealth Group (UNH) with 467.66 and 3M (MMM) with 443.64 have been the three largest point contributors to the DJIA’s advance this year.
And, yes, the 2017 column in the chart below is gold – for 24 karat – I couldn’t help myself.
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. Data as of Nov. 30, 2017. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Chart is provided for illustrative purposes.
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. Data as of Nov. 30, 2017. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Table is provided for illustrative purposes.