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S&P 500

The S&P 500 or Standards & Poor’s 500 for its acronym in English, is undoubtedly one of the most important stock indices in the US market. Let us know everything about him, his origins, history and integration, and current development.

This stock index dates back to the 1920s when Standards & Poor’s started an index that covered around 233 companies and companies. The expansion of the S&P 500 would occur about 30 years later when in the 1950s it became a giant incorporating more than 500 companies from the United States.

Today that number is maintained and their companies are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. This index is so important in the current North American market that it attracts a capitalization of 80% of the domestic market.

Their indices as well as their components are determined by the S&P Dow Jones Indices. The great difference between the Standards & Poor’s 500 and other benchmarks such as the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Indices is based on the variety of items that make up the S&P 500.

Some specialists from the stock market have expressed that the transparency and effectiveness of the S&P 500 indicators are such that the United States market is a reflection of it.

In other words, the trend of the North American economy and the market will be determined by the behavior of the S&P 500.

To be part of this important stock index, companies must go through a very careful selection. Said selection is made by a qualified committee, as do other indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Unlike Others That Impose Rigid Rules, the S&P 500 Establishes 8 Criteria to Evaluate, They Are:

Address
Liquidity
Sector classification
Floating capital
Time of listing on the stock market
Trading on the stock market
Market capitalization
Financial viability

One of the aspects that must be highlighted when talking about the election by said committee is that the evaluation is comprehensive and weighs heavily if the operation of the evaluated company is a possible representation of the operation of the US economy.

Regarding liquidity and the size of the company, it must meet 3 outstanding points, the first being that its market capitalization must be at least 400 million dollars.

The second point is the one that dictates that the adjusted market capitalization must exceed 1.0; this in relation to the amount negotiated in dollars annually. The third and last point indicates that the shares traded in the 6 months prior to the evaluation by the committee must be at least 250,000 shares.

Also, it is important to note that the offers of these shares must be made publicly; It can be on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq. This has made the S&P 500 so important in the North American market that it attracts an 80% capitalization of the domestic market.

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Curt Smith
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