S&P 500

The S&P 500 is about five hundred of the largest American companies, weighted by market value, and the number money is measured against. Index funds copy it, the VIX prices how far it is expected to swing, and it is computed from each member's official close at 1:30 AM IST. Its eleven sectors are how a macro number reaches a single stock.

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  • CME GroupCME Group is the Chicago exchange where futures on US stock indices, interest rates, gold, oil and copper trade…
  • Trading haltA trading halt freezes a US stock on every exchange at once. A news halt lets everyone read an announcement before…
  • Closing auction (official close)The closing auction is the single matched trade at 1:30 AM IST, 2:30 AM in winter, that sets each US stock's official…
  • NASDAQNasdaq is the American exchange that began in 1971 as one screen showing every dealer quote side by side, the first…
  • SPY ETFSPY is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, the first US-listed ETF (1993) and one of the most traded securities on earth, so its…
  • VolumeVolume is how many shares or contracts changed hands in a period. About half of US stock volume is filled off exchange…

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