what is s&p500

The S&P 500 Index, also known as the Standard & Poors 500 Index, is a market-capitalization-weighted index of the 500 leading publicly traded companies in the United States. It was launched in 1957 by the credit rating agency Standard and Poors and is widely regarded as one of the best gauges of large U.S. stocks, covering approximately 80% of available market capitalization. The index includes companies from various sectors such as technology, healthcare, financials, consumer discretionary, industrials, communication services, consumer staples, energy, real estate, materials, and utilities. The S&P 500 is a float-weighted index, meaning the market capitalizations of the companies in the index are adjusted by the number of shares available for public trading. The index is used as a benchmark to measure the overall performance of the U.S. stock market. It is widely considered an accurate representation of the U.S. economy, with periods of economic growth and recessions reflected in the index fund throughout history. The S&P 500 is a key component of the S&P Global 1200 family of indices, which also includes the S&P MidCap 400 and the S&P SmallCap 600, covering 90% of all U.S. capitalization in an index known as the S&P Composite 1500.