Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Visa Inc. and Nike Inc. will be added to the Dow Jones industrial average, replacing Bank of America Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Alcoa Inc. in the biggest reshuffle since April 2004.
The changes will boost the influence of banking and computer companies in the 30-member gauge as the fifth-biggest U.S. bank by assets and the largest payment network join seven other financial and technology firms, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Cisco Systems Inc. Bank of America exits even after rising 109 percent in 2012, the Dow's largest gain. The changes will take effect after the close on Sept. 20.
Moves announced Tuesday by a committee that includes editors of the Wall Street Journal will give extra influence to the average's newest members, due to the way the gauge is designed. Because Dow proportions are determined by stock price rather than market value, shares of Visa and Goldman Sachs, which trade above $160 apiece, will have about seven times the weighting as the constituents they replace.
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