The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), first compiled by Charles Dow in 1896, is the accepted benchmark of how well stocks perform each business day.

The Russell 2000, a subset of the larger Russell 3000, by way of how it is constituted includes many newer, smaller firms often not represented by the S&P 500 or other large indices. On this basis, it is used both as a barometer and the benchmark in the small cap world.