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New York - Alcoa, Hewlett-Packard and Bank of America are losing their official blue-chip status: all three are being dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the index owner announced Tuesday.
Their status as leaders of their respective industries diminished, the three are to be replaced by investment bank Goldman Sachs, credit card issuer Visa and athletic wear giant Nike, S&P Dow Jones Indices said.
The changes, to take place on September 23, "were prompted by the low stock price of the three companies slated for removal and the Index Committee's desire to diversify the sector and industry group representation of the Index," S&P Dow Jones Indices said.
Comprised of 30 top US companies, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been one of the leading measures of the health of US stocks and somewhat of a proxy indicator for the US economy since it was created in 1896.
The index owner periodically changes its membership to reflect both the evolution of US industry and the health of member companies.
S&P Dow Jones Indices said the changes will not affect the level of the index and how it reflects the overall market for publicly traded US stocks.
The Dow set a record high of 15 658.36 on August 2, and has slipped since then.
On Monday the index was up 15% for the year at 15 063.12.
