Embattled industrial giant General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and will be replaced by drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA:NASDAQ).
In many ways it is a seismic shift as GE was one of the longest-standing components of the index of 30 stocks since its inception in 1896.
GE was down 1.3% to US$12.78 in pre-market trade Wednesday while Walgreens was up 3.5% to US$66.88.
"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 at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
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Blitzer said in statement that adding Walgreens to the Dow will make the index "more representative of the consumer and health-care sectors of the U.S. economy."
The news was a downer for GE, which is in the middle of an extensive restructuring of the business that is likely to include the sale or spinoff of parts of the company's portfolios. Investors have feared the value of its business is declining.
"We are focused on executing against the plan we've laid out to improve GE's performance," GE said in a company statement. "Today's announcement does nothing to change those commitments or our focus in creating a stronger, simpler GE."
GE has been a continuous member of the Dow since 1907, or 111 years.
In the past year, the stock has been battered as the GE CEO John Flannery overhauls the business.