Apple To Trade On Dow Jones After Stock Split

Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) is to replace AT&T (Sao Paolo: ATTB34.SA - news) on the Dow Jones Industrial Average this month.

The technology firm, which has become the largest company in the US by market value, had previously been prevented from joining the top 30 listed companies in the Dow because its stock price was too high for the price-weighted index.

S&P Dow Jones Indices said the seven-for-one stock split that Apple carried out in June allowed it to make the step up from the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Apple has a current market value of almost $740bn.

Telecoms firm AT&T is currently worth $177bn.

The iPhone and iPad maker will make the switch on 18 March.

The change was prompted by a four-for-one stock split for Dow-member Visa (Xetra: A0NC7B - news) .

S&P Dow Jones Indices said the post-split adjusted lower price of Visa will reduce its weighting in the information technology sector of the index.

Adding Apple will help to partially offset this reduction.

AT&T has had two stints in the Dow having last been removed in 2004.

After SBC Communications renamed itself AT&T following a 2005 merger, it was reinstated in the index.