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To put it simply, a stock index measures the overall market performance of a collection of stocks. So really we get a snapshot of how markets are performing by tracking the movements of certain stock indexes. Now there are quite a few stock indexes, with each measuring the performance of a different collection of stocks. Some stock indexes show the performance of the overall equities market, while others indicate the performance of specific sector like technology for example.
Although it's easy to get overwhelmed with all of the different stock indexes, there a few common indexes that all investors pay attention to. The first of these is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, commonly referred to as the Dow. The Dow is the oldest and most widely cited index. Often viewed as the barometer of health for the overall equities market, the Dow tracks the market movements of 30 blue-chip, large-cap companies whose stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The companies that make up the Dow represent a variety of different sectors since the goal is to get a snapshot of the performance of entire equities market. However a common criticism of the Dow is that it really does not well represent the entire equities market. Since the Dow only measures the performance of blue-chip large-cap stocks we really only are looking at the largest and typically most financially stable companies.
Companies that make up the Dow include AT&T, Coca-Cola, Chevron, Walmart, Walt Disney, and Microsoft to name a few. These certainly aren't your average companies. Another issue is that the Dow only measures the performance of 30 companies. Despite these shortcomings, the Dow is still a reliable index to follow if you want to get a pulse on the equities market.
Another popular stock index is the Standard and Poor's 500, commonly referred to as the S&P 500. The S&P 500 tackles some of the issues present in the Dow, and is generally considered to be a more balanced representation of the large-cap equities market. Where the Dow measures the performance of a mere 30 companies, the S&P 500 measures the market performance of 500 large-cap companies from a variety of sectors. As a result, the S&P 500 is often viewed as the single best indicator of the large-cap equities market.
The last stock index that we'll review is the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation, which is always referred to simply as the Nasdaq for obvious reasons. This stock index tracks the market performance of approximately 3,000 companies across six continents. Although the Nasdaq measures a large number of stocks, the companies represented in the Nasdaq are commonly technology companies which in general tend to be more volatile. As a result, the Nasdaq is not necessarily representative of the entire equities market, but it does provide investors with a good snapshot of the technology sector.
The beauty of a stock index is that simply by tracking a single indicator you get a general idea of how the stock market is performing. Although individual stocks may differ in their performance, making it difficult to assess whether the market is strong or weak, a stock index clearly indicates how the market is performing, or at least the market that it represents.
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