(MONEY Magazine) – The MONEY 30 started the new year with a bang, jumping 10.77% in January, while the Dow Jones industrial average rose 5.7%. Our index of blue chips for the next century, which was initially pegged at 1000 in January 1996, now stands at 1492.

The big winners: ITT, owner of Sheraton hotels, Caesars World casinos and Madison Square Garden, soared 32% on word that Hilton Hotels has launched a $10.5 billion bid to acquire it. MBNA jumped 25% after Banc One announced that it would acquire First USA, sparking investor interest in credit-card issuers. And Intel (up 24%) continued its inexorable ascent as strong demand for its chips allowed it to make smaller than expected cuts in its new-year prices.

For the up-to-the-minute MONEY 30, see MONEY Online (http://pathfinder.com/cgi-bin/Money/money30).

--Peter Keating

MONEY 30 calculated using total returns, rebalanced monthly