S&P 500 Index components | values (US78378X1072)

The S&P 500 (Standard & Poor’s 500) is a stock index that includes the stocks of 500 of the largest listed US companies. The S&P 500 is weighted according to market capitalization and is one of the most highly regarded stock indices in the world.

The index is based on 500 selected quotations from stock corporations that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the NYSE Amex (formerly the American Stock Exchange) and the NASDAQ. The S&P 500 reflects their performance and is therefore an indicator of the development of the entire US stock market. Compared to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, it is the more modern index and represents around 75 percent of the US market capitalization.

The index is calculated according to the value index formula, which indicates the total change in value as a measure. The S&P 500 is not adjusted for dividend payments. Corporate actions such as stock splits have no (distorting) influence on the index. The weighting is based on the market capitalization of the listed companies. The rating agency Standard & Poor’s decides on inclusion in the index. The calculation is updated every second during NYSE trading hours from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm local time (3:30 pm to 10:00 pm CET). Index futures trading on the S&P 500 began on April 21, 1982 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). In January 1983, trading in index options began, which are among the best-selling in the world.

The S&P 500 serves as the basis for the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which is calculated by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). It was first published in 1993 and counted back to 1986. In the first ten years, the calculation of the VIX was based on the S&P 100, not until the changeover in 2003 to the S&P 500. The volatility index VIX measures the short-term fluctuation intensity expected by the market using option prices on the S&P 500. There is one between the VIX and S&P 500 opposite correlation. If the volatility of the VIX rises, the S&P 500 falls.