S&P 500
The S&P 500 Index (commonly referred to as the SPY) is a stock market index based on the performance of 500 widely held stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The index is calculated using a combination of price and number of shares outstanding. The index was created in 1926 by Charles Dow, who had previously founded the Wall Street Journal. In 1928, Standard & Poor's Corporation began publishing its own index, called the S&P 100, which tracked the largest companies listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ. In 1994, the two indices were combined to create the S&P 500.
The S&P 500 Index is the largest capitalization-weighted index of 500 widely held stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. The index consists of approximately 1,600 companies including many of the world's leading corporations. The S&P 500 Index provides investors with exposure to over 80% of the market value of the U.S. equity markets.
The Nasdaq Composite Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure the performance of the Nasdaq 100 stock index. The index is composed of the 100 largest non-financial public companies listed on the Nasdaq National Market or Nasdaq Capital Market, representing about 98 percent of the total market value of the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted average of 30 blue chip U.S. publicly traded companies commonly considered representative of the industrial sector of the economy. The DJIA was introduced on May 17, 1896 by Charles H. Dow and Edward C. Williams.
The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the smallest 2,000 U.S. companies based on their market cap. These small caps are generally more volatile than larger companies and have higher risk/reward potential.
The FTSE 100 Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index of 100 constituents drawn from a variety of sectors of the UK economy. The constituent members of the FTSE 100 Index are selected by the London Stock Exchange and comprise some of the biggest companies in the United Kingdom.
The Deutsche Börse Group's flagship German share index, the DAX, comprises 30 of Germany's largest companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The DAX is calculated using a weighting formula that takes into account both the size of each company and its market capitalization.
The CAC 40 Index is a French stock market index comprising the top 40 companies listed on Euronext Paris. Companies are ranked according to the sum of their market values.