SP500

About

The S&P 500 is a float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted equity benchmark that tracks 500 leading publicly traded companies in the United States. Launched in March 1957 by S&P Dow Jones Indices, the index covers approximately 80 percent of available United States equity market capitalization. An index committee selects constituent companies based on published eligibility criteria, including market capitalization thresholds, trading liquidity, public float, and positive earnings under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Because select member companies issue multiple publicly traded share classes, the index can hold more than 500 individual equity securities. Constituents are classified across 11 sectors under the Global Industry Classification Standard, including information technology, financials, healthcare, and consumer discretionary. Each company's relative weight in the index depends on its public float market capitalization, which gives larger corporations a proportionally greater effect on index value movements. The index serves as the underlying benchmark for exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, standardized futures, and index options.