Investors use an index to track the performance of a set of assets. The selection of those assets and how they are tracked varies with the index (S&P500, Dow Jones, etc.). Learn more.

For example, the FTSE 100 Index reflects the overall share price performance of the 100 largest companies by market cap on the London Stock Exchange. A forex index is a basket of currency pairings.

Four stock indexes and their market clout. ... That gives investors a much larger sample size than the Dow, says Paul Larson, an equities strategist at Chicago-based Morningstar Inc.

A stock index, often referred to ... Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds, for example, replicate the composition and performance of specific indices. Additionally, ...

Two of the best-known examples of broad-based stock indexes in the U.S. are the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100. Investors can’t directly invest in an index, ...

A stock market index tracks the ups and downs of a chosen group of stocks or other assets. Watching the performance of a market index provides a quick way to see the health of the stock market ...

A broad-based index is designed to reflect the movement of the entire market—one example of a broad-based index is the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

For example, the 75 index funds within the small-blend Morningstar Category use 45 different yardsticks. Forget about 10 people understanding such distinctions! The correct number is zero.

Vanguard’s 500 Index Admiral fund, for example, has an expense ratio of 0.04% (4 basis points), which equates to $1.20 per year based on the fund’s $3,000 minimum investment.

For example, the index dropped 46.4% between August 22, 2008, and March 6, 2009, during the Great Recession. On a long-term basis, the Nasdaq Composite usually gains value.

Nasdaq is the second-largest stock exchange on earth, after the NYSE. It also operates two benchmark stock indexes based on companies that trade on its exchange: the Nasdaq Composite and the ...