Investors are ready to celebrate Dow 17,000. There’s just one problem: It’s not happening.
Why not? There are four stubborn stocks stopping the much-watched Dow from soaring above the 17,000 level for the first time. We’re looking at you Visa (V), International Business Machines (IBM) Boeing (BA) and Goldman Sachs (GS).
What makes these four stocks the most troublesome, for the bulls at least, is that they’re the highest-priced stocks that are in the red for the year. Since the Dow gives greater weight to stocks with the highest per-share prices, when you see stocks that trade for north of $100 a share struggling, those are the ones that are causing the problem.
Three of the stocks with the highest per-share prices in the Dow, Visa at $210.19, IBM at $182.29 and Goldman Sachs at $170.49 are all down this year. That goes a far way to explain why the Dow just can’t seem to break 17,000. It’s trading at 16,952 in mid-day trading Tuesday.
Visa is a classic and perfect example. The credit card processing company’s shares trade for $210 a share, making it the highest priced stock in the Dow. And shares of the company are down 5.6% this year, a heavy anchor for the other Dow components to make up for.
These aren’t the only Dow stocks that are down this year. There are 11 stocks in the Dow that are in the red for 2014 so far and are all contributing from stopping the Dow from reaching 17,000 glory.
All this adds up to a big burden for the stocks that are working, many of which that have smaller per-share prices. For instance, computer chipmaker Intel (INTC) is the second-best gainer in the Dow this year (after Caterpillar), gaining 18.6%. But Intel trades for just $30.79, meaning that its gain is completely swamped by the the losers.
Yes, the Dow can still pierce 17,000 even if these four high-priced stocks keep struggling. But as long as these four high-priced stocks are drags, 17,000 is all that more difficult to reach and make investors wait that much longer.
The four stocks with the highest per-share prices in the Dow that are down this year:
What makes these four stocks the most troublesome, for the bulls at least, is that they’re the highest-priced stocks that are in the red for the year. Since the Dow gives greater weight to stocks with the highest per-share prices, when you see stocks that trade for north of $100 a share struggling, those are the ones that are causing the problem.
Three of the stocks with the highest per-share prices in the Dow, Visa at $210.19, IBM at $182.29 and Goldman Sachs at $170.49 are all down this year. That goes a far way to explain why the Dow just can’t seem to break 17,000. It’s trading at 16,952 in mid-day trading Tuesday.
Visa is a classic and perfect example. The credit card processing company’s shares trade for $210 a share, making it the highest priced stock in the Dow. And shares of the company are down 5.6% this year, a heavy anchor for the other Dow components to make up for.
These aren’t the only Dow stocks that are down this year. There are 11 stocks in the Dow that are in the red for 2014 so far and are all contributing from stopping the Dow from reaching 17,000 glory.
All this adds up to a big burden for the stocks that are working, many of which that have smaller per-share prices. For instance, computer chipmaker Intel (INTC) is the second-best gainer in the Dow this year (after Caterpillar), gaining 18.6%. But Intel trades for just $30.79, meaning that its gain is completely swamped by the the losers.
Yes, the Dow can still pierce 17,000 even if these four high-priced stocks keep struggling. But as long as these four high-priced stocks are drags, 17,000 is all that more difficult to reach and make investors wait that much longer.
The four stocks with the highest per-share prices in the Dow that are down this year:
| Company | Symbol | Current price | YTD % Ch. |
| Visa | V | $210.19 | -5.6% |
| Int’l Bus. Machines | IBM | $182.29 | -2.8% |
| Goldman Sachs | GS | $170.49 | -3.8% |
| Boeing | BA | $130.79 | -4.2 |
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