The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^INDU) began 2022 at its most robust ever. The blue chip index reached its all-time closing high at 36,799.65 points on Jan. 4, 2022. But from there, things got shaky.
Volatility rocked stock values all year long, as investors were spooked by fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation and interest rate hikes. By December 20, the Dow’s stood at 32,849.74.
But these four companies, all listed in the Dow, managed to escape the headwinds and found themselves at the top of the year’s blue chip performers. We examine which ones they are and how they ended up bucking the downward trend.
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation (CVX) – Get Free Report, the second largest oil company in the United States behind fellow Standard Oil descendant ExxonMobil (XOM) – Get Free Report, led the Dow companies in stock price increase for the year.
During the first half of 2022, shares of Chevron surged about 23%. The company and its shareholders benefited from rising oil prices resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Little excess capacity in oil production caused demand to remain high.
The increase in prices sparked a climb in Chevron’s revenues. The company also benefited by not having as much exposure to Russian oil as some of its competitors.
And the stock remained strong in the fourth quarter. As of Dec. 20 Chevron shares were trading at $172.67, up about 45% for the calendar year.
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co. (MRK) – Get Free Report, the U.S.-based multinational pharmaceutical company, had a very strong 2022, with an increase in stock price for the calendar year well above 40%.
Keytruda, a popular drug used to fight certain kinds of cancers, continues to achieve important results in patient survival. For example, Fierce Pharma reported on Sept. 4 that about 19.4% of patients with a type of lung cancer were alive after five years of Keytruda and chemotherapy.
“Bear in mind that typically we’re thinking of five-year survival in this population of patients is on the order of around 5% from the era of just chemotherapy…
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