S&P 500 Index

II. A Thumbnail Sketch of Each of the Indexes in CME's Index Quadrant: Section 1 of 8

The S&P 500 Stock Index has long been the benchmark by which professionals measure portfolio performance. The Standard & Poor's Corporation designed and maintains the S&P 500 to be an accurate proxy for a diversified equity portfolio. The Index is based on the stock prices of 500 large-capitalization companies. The market value of the 500 firms is equal to about 80 percent of the value of all stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 is capitalization-weighted, representing the market value of all outstanding common shares of the firms listed (share price x shares outstanding). This means that a change in the price of any one stock influences the index in proportion to the relative market value of that firm's outstanding shares. General Electric, Microsoft, Coca Cola Co. and General Motors are just a few of the well-known names included in the S&P 500.

Did You Know...?

The top 40 S&P 500 stocks account for 50% of the market capitalization of the S&P 500 index.