Dow rises following changes in benchmark

U.S. markets opened up Tuesday morning following an announcement of changes to the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The Dow was up 80 points, or 0.3 percent, and the S&P 500 was up 7 points, or 0.2 percent, in the opening minutes of trading.

Starting Monday, the Dow will drop Exxon Mobil, Pfizer and Raytheon in favor of Salesforce, Amgen and Honeywell. The change followed Apple’s announcement of a four-for-one split of its shares.

Because the Dow weights the index by share price, and not market capitalization, the Apple split reduced its exposure to technology significantly, prompting some of the changes.

The stock market has been on a tear since losing a third of its value in March as the coronavirus pandemic hit the country. The S&P 500 has already erased all its losses and was trading in new record territory on Tuesday morning.