The Dow 30, commonly referred to as the "Dow," or the "Dow Jones Industrial Average," was created by Wall Street Journal editor Charles Dow and got its name from Dow and his business partner, Edward Jones. The Dow 30 is a stock market index that tracks the performance of 30 large, publicly traded companies in the United States.The Dow 30 is one of the most closely watched stock market indexes in the world, and is often used as a barometer for the overall health of the U.S. stock market. The Dow 30 is also one of the oldest stock market indexes, having been first calculated in 1896.The Dow 30 is a price-weighted index, which means that the stocks with the highest prices have the greatest impact on the index's movements. The Dow 30 is also a widely recognized benchmark for U.S. stock market performance.The Dow 30 is one of the most important stock market indexes in the world, and is a key barometer for the overall health of the U.S. stock market.