Dow Jones drops GE

The S&P Dow Jones Indices said Tuesday it will drop General Electric from the Dow Jones industrial average next week. Boston-based GE was an original member of the 30-company blue chip index in 1896 and has been a continuous member for more than 100 years. Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance will take GE’s slot in the list of the most stable publicly traded U.S. companies. Shares of GE have been in gradual decline since 2000 but especially shaky in recent years. Shares closed on Tuesday at $12.95, a 60 percent drop from a recent peak in July 2016. In January, GE revealed the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the company over a $15 billion hit taken to cover miscalculations made within an insurance unit. “Today’s change to the [Dow Jones industrial average] will make the index a better measure of the economy and the stock market,” said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee.