S&P 500 History

The S&P 500 index was created in 1957, but it has been extrapolated back in time. The first S&P index was introduced in 1923. Prior to 1957, the primary S&P stock market index consisted of 90 companies, known as the "S&P 90", and was published on a daily basis. A broader index of 423 companies was also published weekly. On March 4, 1957, a broad, real-time stock market index, the S&P 500 was introduced. This introduction was made possible by advancements in the computer industry which allowed the index to be calculated and disseminated in real time.

Companies included in the index are selected by the S&P Index Committee, a team of analysts and economists at Standard & Poor's. The S&P 500 is a market value weighted index - each stock's weight in the index is proportionate to its market value.

Part of the index's popularity is due to its close association with the largest mutual fund in the world, the Vanguard 500 Index Fund, and Spiders (AMEX: SPY), the first exchange traded fund (ETF).

Market data vendors offer securities professionals and investors a window to trading activity on The NASDAQ Stock Market, American Stock Exchange (Amex), and OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). Through vendor services, individuals and corporations may obtain access to real-time quotation, trade, and market summary data for the major global equity and options markets. In addition, vendors offer a variety of value-added services such as market news, historical statistics, company profiles, and analytical research.

S&P 500 Index Stocks Data Vendors
Over 100 vendors are also authorized to distribute real time NASDAQ and Amex market data to the public. To meet the needs of investors, vendors utilize a variety of communication services to disseminate market data. Some of the service options available include dedicated computer terminals, data feeds, pagers, and the Internet.

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