New Regional Indexes to Use Same Guiding Principles as
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
30 Blue-Chip Stocks in Each Index
LONDON and HONG KONG, Oct. 18, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the same year in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) celebrates its 115th birthday, Dow Jones Indexes today announced the launch of two regional versions of the iconic index, The Europe Dow and The Asia Dow.
The new indexes will operate according to the same guiding principles as the DJIA, measuring the Europe and Asia equity markets by tracking 30 leading blue-chip companies in each region.
"With the launch of these two important regional indexes, we have taken 115 years' worth of experience from The Dow Jones Industrial Average and applied it to The Europe Dow and The Asia Dow," said John Prestbo, Editor and Executive Director of Dow Jones Indexes. "These two indexes add to Dow Jones Indexes' long and impressive track record of reliably delivering significant financial data."
Of the 30 companies represented in The Europe Dow, nine claim Great Britain as their home country, the most of any nation in the index. Next, are France and Germany (five each); Switzerland (four); and Spain and Sweden (two each). Denmark, Italy and The Netherlands each have one company in The Europe Dow. (A table listing the components of The Europe Dow can be seen below.)
For The Asia Dow, seven of the component stocks are based in Japan, the most of any nation in the index; the remaining nations represented include Australia, China and Hong Kong (four each); South Korea and Taiwan (three each); and India (two). Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore each have one company in The Asia Dow. (A table listing the components of The Asia Dow can be seen below.)
The Europe Dow launch is the latest in a significant expansion of Dow Jones Indexes' suite of European offerings, underscoring the global index provider's revitalised commitment to the region. So far in 2011, Dow Jones Indexes has unveiled for the European markets six dividend-focused and two real estate indexes on 20 September; two volatility index series on 13 September; and two blue-chip indexes on 20 June.
The Europe Dow and The Asia Dow are maintained by an Averages Committee that is responsible for adding and deleting stocks to the indexes. (The same committee maintains the DJIA and The Global Dow, a 150-stock index of influential corporations from around the world.) The Committee is comprised of the Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal, the head of Dow Jones Indexes research and the head of CME Group research. The DJIA, whose 30 stocks account for 24% of the total U.S. market value, is owned by Dow Jones Indexes, part of a joint venture company owned 90 percent by CME Group Inc. and 10 percent by Dow Jones & Company, Inc., a News Corporation company.
"Having been modelled upon The Dow Jones Industrial Average -- one of the financial world's most trusted and recognisable brands -- we believe The Europe Dow and The Asia Dow will be a welcome addition to the marketplace," said Jamie Farmer, Executive Director, Global Business Development and Communications. "And, when viewed alongside the DJIA and The Global Dow, the new indexes offer a unique, complete 'at-a-glance' snapshot of the global markets."
Component stocks for the new indexes must be publicly traded equity securities from Western Europe (The Europe Dow) and Asia/Pacific (The Asia Dow) markets that are open to foreign investment. While stock selection is not governed by quantitative rules, a stock typically is added only if the company has an excellent reputation, demonstrates sustained growth and is of interest to a large number of investors. Maintaining adequate sector representation within the indexes is also a consideration in the selection process.
Stocks in The Europe Dow and The Asia Dow are weighted equally, unlike the DJIA which uses a price-weighted methodology. Stocks in the new regional indexes are expected to be rebalanced to equal weight each September. The Europe Dow is calculated in USD and EUR; The Asia Dow is calculated in USD.
The 30 components of The Europe Dow are:
| Country | Name | Industry |
| Denmark | Novo Nordisk A/S Series B | Health Care |
| France | BNP Paribas S.A. | Financials |
| France | Vivendi S.A. | Consumer Svcs |
| France | Vinci S.A. | Industrials |
| France | Schneider Electric S.A. | Industrials |
| France | Total S.A. | Oil & Gas |
| Germany | Allianz SE | Financials |
| Germany | BASF SE | Basic Materials |
| Germany | Daimler AG | Consumer Goods |
| Germany | Siemens AG | Industrials |
| Germany | E.ON AG | Utilities |
| Great Britain | BP PLC | Oil & Gas |
| Great Britain | GlaxoSmithKline PLC | Health Care |
| Great Britain | Diageo PLC | Consumer Goods |
| Great Britain | HSBC Holdings PLC (UK Reg) | Financials |
| Great Britain | Rio Tinto PLC | Basic Materials |
| Great Britain | Vodafone Group PLC | Telecom |
| Great Britain | Tesco PLC | Consumer Svcs |
| Great Britain | Anglo American PLC | Basic Materials |
| Italy | UniCredit S.p.A. | Financials |
| Netherlands | Unilever N.V. CVA | Consumer Goods |
| Netherlands | Royal Dutch Shell PLC A | Oil & Gas |
| Spain | Banco Santander S.A. | Financials |
| Spain | Telefonica S.A. | Telecom |
| Sweden | LM Ericsson TelephoneCo Series | Technology |
| Sweden | Hennes & Mauritz AB Series B | Consumer Svcs |
| Switzerland | ABB Ltd. | Industrials |
| Switzerland | Nestle S.A. | Consumer Goods |
| Switzerland | Novartis AG | Health Care |
| Switzerland | UBS AG | Financials |
The 30 components of The Asia Dow are:
| Country | Name | Industry |
| Australia | Westpac Banking Corp. | Financials |
| Australia | BHP Billiton Ltd. | Basic Materials |
| Australia | Commonwealth Bank of Australia | Financials |
| Australia | Woolworths Ltd. | Consumer Services |
| China | China Mobile Ltd. | Telecom |
| China | PetroChina Co. Ltd. | Oil & Gas |
| China | China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. | Financials |
| China | Industrial & Comm Bank of China Ltd | Financials |
| Hong Kong | Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. | Financials |
| Hong Kong | CLP Holdings Ltd. | Utilities |
| Hong Kong | HSBC Holdings PLC (HK Reg) | Financials |
| Hong Kong | Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. | Industrials |
| India | Reliance Industries Ltd. | Oil & Gas |
| India | Larsen & Toubro Ltd. | Industrials |
| Indonesia | Astra International | Consumer Goods |
| Japan | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc | Financials |
| Japan | Mitsubishi Corp. | Industrials |
| Japan | Nippon Steel Corp. | Basic Materials |
| Japan | Seven & I Holdings Co. Ltd. | Consumer Services |
| Japan | Sony Corp. | Consumer Goods |
| Japan | Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. | Health Care |
| Japan | Toyota Motor Corp. | Consumer Goods |
| Malaysia | CIMB Group Holdings Bhd | Financials |
| Singapore | Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. | Industrials |
| South Korea | Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. | Consumer Goods |
| South Korea | POSCO | Basic Materials |
| South Korea | Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. | Technology |
| Taiwan | Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. | Industrials |
| Taiwan | Nan Ya Plastics Corp. | Basic Materials |
| Taiwan | Taiwan Semi Manufacturing Co Ltd. | Technology |
About Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes (www.djindexes.com) is a leading full-service index provider that develops, maintains and licenses indexes for use as benchmarks and as the basis of investment products. Best-known for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones Indexes offers more than 130,000 equity indexes as well as fixed-income and alternative indexes, including measures of hedge funds, commodities and real estate. Dow Jones Indexes employs clear, unbiased and systematic methodologies that are fully integrated within index families. Dow Jones Indexes is part of a joint venture company owned 90 percent by CME Group Inc. (www.cmegroup.com) and 10 percent by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. (www.dowjones.com), a News Corporation company (Nasdaq:NWS) (Nasdaq:NWSA) (ASX:NWS) (ASX:NWSLV) ( www.newscorp.com).
The Europe Dow and The Asia Dow were first published on 18 October, 2011.
All estimated daily historical closing prices prior to that date are based on back-testing (i.e., calculations of how the index might have performed in the past if it had existed). Back-tested performance information is purely hypothetical and is solely for informational purposes. Back-tested performance does not represent actual performance, and past performance is not indicative of future results.
"Dow Jones®", "Dow Jones Indexes", "Dow Jones Industrial Average", "The Europe Dow", and "The Asia Dow" are service marks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ("Dow Jones"), and have been licensed for use by CME Group Index Services LLC ("CME Indexes"). Investment products based on these indexes are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Dow Jones, CME Indexes or their respective affiliates and none of Dow Jones, CME Indexes and their respective affiliates make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. Inclusion of a company in any of these indexes does not in any way reflect an opinion of Dow Jones, CME Indexes or any of their respective affiliates on the investment merits of such company. None of Dow Jones, CME Indexes or any of their respective affiliates is providing investment advice in connection with these indexes.
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