Dow Jones Industrial Average has only 4 stocks positive this year

The stock market has had a rough time going for the first nine months of the year in 2022. All major indexes are down year-to-date, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Here is a look at the four stocks in the index that posted positive gains in 2022.

What Happened: Created in 1896 by Charles Dow, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is one of the oldest and most followed equity indexes for overall stock market health. The Dow Jones Industrial Average consists of 30 stocks on a price-weighted basis.

In the first half of 2022, only eights of the 30 stocks in the index were positive on the year, according to Benzinga. The list has been cut in half, with only four of the Dow Jones Industrial Average stock components having a positive return year-to-date in 2022.

A total of 26 of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average components have a negative year-to-date return after the first nine months of positive returns. 17 of the stocks are down 20% or more year-to-date.

The biggest declines through the first three quarters of the index are:

Why It is Important: The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust DIA, which tracks the index, is down 21.3% through the first nine months of 2022. The decline in the third quarter was added to by the fact that the ETF was down 15.5% through the first six months of the year.

The Dow Jones ETF is down 13.5% over the last year and is up 10.1% over the last five years.

The SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF SPY, which tracks the S&P 500 Index, fell 23.3% in the first nine months of 2022. The last year, the ETF was down 14.5% and 41.8% over the last five years.

In the first half of the year, eight of the 30 Dow Jones components were positive as investors searched for value stocks and dividend yields. With only four stocks positive over the first nine months, a clearer picture is painted that no stocks or sectors are safe during the current bear market.