The S&P 500 comprises of 500 large cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The largees public companies that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ are included in the S&P 500 index. The S&P 500 index was lunched in 1957 and is a value weighted index which is based on the 500 American stocks with the largest market capitalizations. The S&P 500 is the most widely followed index After the Dow Jones Industrial Average index and it is considered a barometer for the American economy. The S&P 500 index is included in the Index of Leading Indicators. There are the number of trading vehicle that are designed to follow the S&P 500 index. Hundreds of billions of US dollars have been invested in this index. The SPY (Exchange Traded Fund) is one of the most actively trading stock over the world. The Rydex,[More...]