In this short survey, we will present a few more popular stock indices, split up according to the companies that maintain them.

 

Standard & Poor’s   1

Leading Index: S&P 500.

Additional Indices

  • S&P MidCap 400

Made up of 400 companies with middle size market cap (5-20 billion dollars) that are not included in the S&P 500.

 

  • S&P SmallCap 600

Contains 600 stocks from small market cap (up to 5 billion dollars) firms that are not included in the S&P 500.

 

  • S&P Super Composite 1,500

This index includes all of the corporations in the other S&P indices – a total of 1500 stocks – and is meant to represent the entire American stock market.

 

Dow Jones & Co.   1

Leading Index: Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Additional Indices

  • Dow Jones Transportation Average

Made up of the stocks of 20 leading transportation and shipping companies.

 

  • Dow Jones Utility Average

Includes the stocks of 15 companies that provide electricity, gas and water.

 

  • Dow Jones Composite Average

This is a composite of the Dow Jones industrial, transportation and utility averages.  It contains 65 stocks in total.

 


Frank Russell Co.     1

Leading Index: Russell 2,000

This includes stocks from 2,000 small cap companies.  This is the most popular index for tracking the smaller companies in the market.

Additional Indices

  • Russell 1,000

Contains 1,000 large market cap companies.

 

  • Russell 3,000

Includes the stocks on both the Russell 2,000 and the Russell 1,000.

 

American institutional investors often use Russell indices. As well, they are used to judge the performance of mutual funds.

 

Wilshire Associates    1

Leading Index: Wilshire 5,000

This index contains stocks from 6,500 companies across all sectors of the American market.  This index is thought to be the broadest indicator available.

Additional Indices

  • Wilshire 4,500

Includes all of the stocks in the Wilshire 5000, except for those that are part of the S&P 500. This index is used to represent the mid and small cap sectors of the market.

 

 

NYSE Composite Index    1

The NYSE Composite Index is made up of all of the stocks listed on the NYSE and measures the average change in their prices.