The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.40%) has been a lone wolf among major market benchmarks over the past couple of years. In 2022, the bear market ravaged the Nasdaq and S&P 500 for losses of 33% and 19%, respectively, but the Dow Jones was down a relatively modest 9% for the year.
Year to date in 2023, the tides have turned. The Dow Jones has been a relative underperformer, rising just 9% compared to 45% gains for the Nasdaq and 21% gains for the S&P 500. Yet because of its smaller 2022 losses, the Dow Jones was able to take advantage of November's rally and move within 2% of a fresh all-time record, compared to the other indexes remaining 4% to 5% below their highs.
A pair of stocks has been instrumental in driving markets toward record levels. Here's why shareholders are looking closely at Salesforce (CRM 0.42%) and Boeing (BA 0.25%) right now.
Salesforce: The best performer in the Dow Jones
Among the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrials, Salesforce was the best performer over the past month, rising 21%. The customer relationship management software specialist has done an extremely good job in capitalizing on positive trends in technology, including artificial intelligence.
The biggest part of Salesforce's move higher came late in November, when the tech giant reported its fiscal third-quarter financial results for the period ended Oct. 31. Even in an environment in which growth has come under pressure from macroeconomic headwinds, Salesforce managed to post an 11% rise in revenue from year-ago levels to $8.72 billion. Adjusted earnings of $2.11 per share were up more than 50% year over year.
AI has given Salesforce an opportunity to expand the scope of its business, and CEO Marc Benioff hasn't hesitated to embrace it. As Benioff sees it, managing customer relationships effectively will increasingly require automated support, and the AI integrations that Salesforce has already achieved are just the tip of the iceberg as the software company looks to keep building on the strong foundation its platform provides.
Salesforce has the potential to keep rising as long as investors remain excited about AI and technology. With the tech-heavy Nasdaq performing so well, it's likely that Salesforce could play a key role in pushing the Dow to record levels if the rally continues.
Boeing has helped the Dow Jones fly higher
Also rising nearly 20% over the past month is Boeing. That might come as a surprise to many investors, given that many cyclical industrial stocks have lagged behind tech companies this year. Yet the move higher has brought Boeing close to its best levels since before the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
The most evident success for Boeing during the month came at the Dubai Air Show in mid-November. There, the aircraft manufacturer announced some huge orders, crushing its archrival Airbus with new demand for nearly 300 aircraft. In particular, a massive $52 billion order from global airline Emirates for 90 of Boeing's 777 passenger jets gave Boeing a huge lift, and an $11 billion order of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft restored some confidence in a model that had given Boeing some trouble early in its production cycle.
More broadly, Boeing has been more hopeful that efforts to increase adoption of the 737 MAX aircraft could bear fruit. With rising order flow, the aircraft manufacturing giant has the opportunity to increase its cash flow and keep up the pace of its recovery from the pandemic.
Industrial powerhouses have always played a key role in driving the performance of the Dow Jones. If Boeing gets back to its winning ways, then its stock could be instrumental in helping bring the venerable market benchmark to an all-time high.
