Alcoa, H-P and BofA ushered off blue-chip index

NEW YORK, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- The Dow Jones industrial average is getting a makeover with three blue-chip U.S. firms being turned out and three others replacing them, index officials said.

S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, the guardians of the index, said that aluminum company Alcoa Inc., technology firm Hewlett-Packard and financial giant Bank of America Corp. would be taken off the list of 30 blue-chip companies due to falling stock prices, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

In their stead, sportswear company Nike Inc, financial firm Visa Inc. and securities giant Goldman Sachs Group would join the index, the Journal reported.

The new lineup was "prompted by the low stock price of the three companies slated for removal and the Index Committee's desire to diversify the sector and industry group representation of the index," S&P Dow Jones said in a statement.

The blue-chip index has risen 15 percent since Jan. 1 and hit a record high on Aug. 2. At 15,063.12, the index is has dropped 3.8 percent since reaching its all-time peak.

S&P Dow Jones said the changes, which will take effect after markets close on Sept. 20, are a break-even move for the index.

But moving three companies off the index and bringing three in to replace them is the largest shake-up for the Dow in a decade, the Journal said.