The main indexes of the American stock markets
Do you know the main American stock market indices?
Announcements
If you want to invest abroad, you need to know what the main American stock market indices are.
An index is much more than a number that frequently appears in the news.
For this and other reasons, in today's article, you will learn what market indexes are, what they are for and the main indicators of American stock exchanges.
Read on to find out more.
What are market indices?
Market indexes are indicators used to indicate the general performance of the market and assist when making investments.
Through the index, it becomes possible to analyze the return on your money and make comparisons.
In other words, when comparing indexes with similar characteristics, you can see more clearly the real situation of a sector of the economy and the trend of evolution.
What are the main American stock market indices?
American indices bring together the main shares traded on the American market.
They are traded in an environment known as the futures market and can be purchased as a full contract or mini contract.
Now that you know this, it's time to learn about the main indexes of American bags:
Dow Jones
The Dow Jones index is one of the most important financial indicators in the world.
It brings together the quotations of companies that are very prominent in the United States, evaluating the 30 largest companies registered on the New York Stock Exchange.
These organizations are basically leaders in their segments. Furthermore, their combined value has a significant impact on the performance of publicly traded companies.
The official name of the stock index is Dow Jones Industrial Average. It was created in 1896 by The Wall Street Journal, which still calculates and selects assets today.
Among the main companies that are part of the Dow Jones index, we can mention:
• Coca-Cola
• Exxon Mobil
• McDonald's
• Walmart
• Home Depot
• Walt Disney
How important is the Dow Jones index?
The Dow Jones index tracks the performance of 30 large publicly traded companies in the United States.
For this reason, we can say that it is capable of reflecting the state of the economy in general, not just that of the North American country.
Furthermore, as you already know, it is a very old index (more than 100 years old).
Therefore, we can say that it serves as a basis for evaluating past market behavior and periods of recession.
Nasdaq Composite
The acronym Nasdaq stands for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations.
Nasdaq is actually one of the stock exchanges in the United States, created in 1971.
One of the most interesting factors about this exchange is that its trading has always been carried out electronically. It is also important to mention that it concentrates the shares of important companies in the technology sector.
But after all, what is the Nasdaq Composite?
It is the index composed of more than 3000 common stocks that are traded on Nasdaq.
In addition to this, there are other indexes published by Nasdaq that are very important:
• Nasdaq 100: is composed of the 100 largest non-financial companies with shares traded within the Nasdaq.
• Nasdaq Transportation: This index is made up of companies in the logistics segment.
• Nasdaq Biotechnology: As the name suggests, this index brings together companies from the biotechnology sector.
How important is the Nasdaq index?
Nasdaq is the second largest stock exchange in the United States.
The Nasdaq index reflects the price of the shares that make up this exchange. Therefore, its performance helps to indicate the movement of other world markets.
After all, as everyone knows, the dollar is considered a very strong currency and the American economy influences the entire world.
Furthermore, the country is also recognized for the strength of its technology sector.
The fluctuation in the shares of companies represented by the Nasdaq Composite serves as a thermometer for the entire economy.
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is short for Standard & Poor's 500.
It is considered the most important index of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and includes the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the world. USA.
For this reason, the S&P 500 is one of the main tools for monitoring the behavior of American stocks.
In fact, financial market experts consider this index to be the standard measure of the average performance of the US stock market.
After all, to know how the US stock markets are performing and analyze the market's reaction to international politics and the main economic issues, we normally look at the movement of the S&P 500.
Among the main companies in the index, we can mention Microsoft, Google, Berkshire Hathaway and Visa.
How important is the S&P 500?
Currently, the S&P 500 is made up of 505 companies from different sectors.
For a company to qualify for the index, it must be located in the United States, have a market value that exceeds US$8 billion, and at least 50% of its fixed assets and revenues must be located in the United States.
The S&P 500 operates in a way that takes into account the market capitalization of companies, unlike the Dow Jones, which is based solely on the value of the shares.
American stock market in real time: how to follow?
There are several ways to follow the American capital market.
If you already have an account with a US-based brokerage firm, it's even easier to keep track.
But if that is not your case, you can access specialized websites and trading platforms.
In MarketWatch, for example, you can find the prices of the main indexes on the American market.
Conclusion
Investing in American stock indexes can be easier and more accessible than you might think.
For example, it is possible to expose yourself to the dollar and the S&P 500, through some ETFs, which are available on B3 – the Brazilian stock exchange.
This way, you can invest here in Brazil, without having to open an account abroad!
It is also possible to find financial institutions that work with this type of operation. However, it is necessary to check what services are offered and the fees involved!
