Final answer:
The largest component of the Dow Jones Averages is industrials, represented by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which consists of 30 industrial stocks on the NYSE.
Step-by-step explanation:
The largest component of the Dow Jones Averages is industrials. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted average of 30 prominent companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), representing the industrial sector.
Stock market measures like the DJIA, Standard & Poor’s 500, and Wilshire 5000, tend to exhibit an upward trajectory over time despite experiencing significant fluctuations along the way. The S&P 500 and the Wilshire 5000 include a broader range of companies, covering various sectors such as banking and finance, transportation, and utilities among others.
The DJIA often moves together with other broad stock market measures, indicating the general trend of the market. However, it is specifically constructed from industrial stocks that affect its dominant focus within the stock market indices.