The Dow Jones Industrial Average got off to a solid start this year. The widely reported index, consisting of 30 large-cap stocks representing multiple sectors of the economy, gained 4.7% in the first month of the year.

While not all Dow index stocks did well in January, these five Dow stocks, which come from divergent sectors, vastly outperformed the index.

1. 3M

Industrial company 3M (NYSE: MMM) was the index's top performer in January with a 17.9% gain. Part of the stock's movement came after the company reported fourth-quarter results. Adjusted sales, which remove acquisitions/sales and foreign currency effects, grew 2.1% compared to a year ago. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) fell 1.2% to $1.68.

2. International Business Machines

International Business Machines' (NYSE: IBM) shares soared 16.3%. Its fourth-quarter sales increased a tepid 2% after removing the effects of foreign currency translations. However, investors were undoubtedly pleased about IBM's progress on the generative artificial intelligence front with management reporting its book of business grew to $5 billion.

3. Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs' (NYSE: GS) stock price leapt 11.8% last month. The financial services company reported strong fourth-quarter results. Quarterly revenue grew 23% year over year to $13.9 billion, and diluted earnings per share more than doubled to $11.95.

Its businesses span investment banking, trading, asset management, and other banking services such as credit cards.

4. JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) saw its share price increase 11.5% in January. The banking giant reported fourth-quarter revenue grew 10.9%, driving diluted earnings per share more than 58% higher.

JPMorgan Chase's businesses include banking for consumers and businesses, investment banking, and asset management.

5. Amgen

Amgen's (NASDAQ: AMGN) shareholders were undoubtedly pleased with the stock's 9.5% appreciation. Although no specific news seemed to drive the price increase, the company has a history of developing treatments for ailments such as heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis.

Given people need their medications, Amgen's results tend to do well no matter what happens with the economy and people's personal finances.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post These were the 5 top-performing stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in January 2025 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

These days the answer to that question is actually quantifiable by seeing which stocks have the most engagement on social media.

Of course, popularity on social media means nothing about whether those shares are worth investing in.

But it's still fascinating to see what the average person on the street is interested in.

Online broker City Index recently conducted research to come up with the 10 most popular stocks on Instagram and TikTok.

Here is what the team found:

People start investing in names they're familiar with

Predictably the list is dominated by US companies:

Funnily enough, Instagram's parent company Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) does not make the cut. TikTok owner ByteDance is privately owned.

Even though the business and the stock have endured tough times the past couple of years, Visual Capitalist strategist Marcus Lu noted Disney had the highest social media engagement of any stock via hashtags like #disneystock, #disneystocks, and #disneyshares.

"Amazon comes in second in hashtags, with 1,384 videos regarding its financial performance accompanied by hashtags such as #amazonstock, #amazonstocks, or #amazonshares," Lu wrote on VisualCapitalist.

"In its most recent earnings report, the company disclosed the addition of 5.9 million new subscribers in the second quarter of this year."

The top 10 shows potentially how a person who has never invested starts becoming interested in buying stocks.

"The companies at the top of the list — all American — are some of the biggest brands globally," said Lu.

"This underscores how the general public is most comfortable approaching the stock market through businesses and brands they are most familiar with."

The post Revealed: The top 10 stocks on Instagram and TikTok appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Then there are specific, or thematic ETFs, that might focus on an individual sector, such as robotics or health care.

There are even funds that don't cover shares at all — ETFs can track all manner of assets, from property, to government bonds, to gold and silver.

A US tech-focused ETF

The BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) lies somewhere in the middle of this wide range. This ETF tracks an index – the NASDAQ-100 (INDEXNASDAQ: NDX) to be precise. But this index doesn't cover an entire market, as an ASX 200 ETF might. Over in the United States, there are 2 primary stock exchanges – the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange.

The Nasdaq, for a variety of reasons, tends to be the exchange that tech companies like to list on. So you won't find 'old-style' companies like General Motors Inc (NYSE: GM) or 3M Co (NYSE: MMM). Instead, it's top constituents are tech giants like Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Inc (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). These are the companies that the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF tracks. Thus, it's not really an index fund in the same vein as a fund tracking the S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX) is, but it's more index-like than a pure tech-focused ETF.

So what does NDQ give you as an investor? Well, As we discussed earlier, Apple, Microsoft and Tesla make up 3 of the fund's 4 largest current holdings. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) is the other. But you'll also get moderate exposure to other tech giants like Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL). Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX), and Adobe Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE).

So why consider this ETF today?

NDQ suffers rare pullback

Well, it hasn't had a very pleasant few weeks.

NDQ units are down around 9% since 5 February, which happens to be the date NDQ made its last all-time high. Indeed, on the current unit price, NDQ is now down 2.5% year to date as well. Today alone, it's lost 2.7% at the time of writing. The weakness is of course underpinned by a shaky start to the year for the underlying Nasdaq 100 Index.

There's another factor in play as well. Since Nasdsaq companies are listed on a US exchange, a rising Aussie dollar also means that the value of NDQ's holdings in Aussie dollar terms has also been falling.

Now, the Nasdaq is renowned for being an index that has delivered stellar performance almost non-stop over the past decade. The BetaShares Nasdaq ETF has only been around since 2015. But since its launch, it has returned roughly 163% in capital gains alone.

Including dividend distributions that equates to an average of around 21.25% per annum. Speaking of dividends, this ETF currently offers a trailing distribution yield of 2.4%. That's not bad for a US-based ETF coming from a market not known for its love of a dividend.

All of this adds up to make the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF worthy of consideration today.

The post Why this ASX tech ETF is in the buy zone appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.