The Dow Jones industrial average is struggling to close above 13,000 this afternoon after vaulting to 13,005 in earlier trading. Nice, round numbers call for nice, round observations – so we’re taking a look back at what the Dow was doing the last time it closed at the 13,000-point threshold, in May 2008.
While the index might be back to where it was nearly four years ago, many of the 30 stocks within the index haven’t been sitting idle.
Curiously, some of the more economically sensitive stocks have seen the most impressive moves. International Business Machines Corp. has risen 53 per cent since 2008, suggesting that Big Blue is also nimble, even during financial meltdowns and recessions. Caterpillar Inc. is another key winner, rising nearly 38 per cent and Home Depot Inc. is up 62 per cent.
But some economically defensive stocks have also been on the move. McDonald’s Corp. has surged 66 per cent after squeezing bigger sales from existing stores and moving deeper into coffee offerings. And look at Coca-Cola Co.: Up 20 per cent, which is a nice gain for a slow-growing company.
Of course, with the Dow back to where it was in 2008, there have to be some losers, too. Even though crude oil prices recently re-took $100-a-barrel territory, oil producers are laggards: Exxon Mobil Corp. has fallen 8.1 per cent.
But the financials are by far the biggest drags. Even though the financial crisis was alive and unwell in 2008 – as was Lehman Brothers – JPMorgan Chase & Co. has slumped 15.8 per cent since then. And Bank of America Corp., which is this year’s star performer, has slumped 77 per cent.
So which stock best mirrors the Dow since 2008, in that they both went nowhere? That award goes to Verizon Communications Inc., which has fallen 1.7 per cent.
