Dow Contest Appeals To Stock Handicappers

Dow Jones & Co. is holding a contest to see who can guess the size of the granddaddy of stock indexes when it reaches its 100th anniversary this spring.

The Dow Jones industrial average, the index of 30 corporate stocks including General Motors and Coca-Cola, was started on May 26, 1896. The contest seeks the closest guess to the index’s closing on Friday, May 24, the last trading day before the centennial.

Dow Jones said Tuesday it will offer 100 shares of its stock to the contest winner. Those shares were trading at nearly $40 each on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Two second-prize winners will receive a gift package, including a subscription to the company’s flagship newspaper, The Wall Street Journal. One hundred third-prize winners will receive Dow Jones T-shirts.

Entry forms and contest rules will be included in the company’s publications. Entries will be accepted until March 31.