NYSE Composite
Encyclopedia
The NYSE Composite is a stock market index
covering all common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange
, including American Depositary Receipt
s, Real Estate Investment Trust
s, tracking stock
s, and foreign listings. Over 2,000 stocks are covered in the index, of which over 1,600 are from United States
corporations and over 360 are foreign listings; however foreign companies are very prevalent among the largest companies in the index: of the 100 companies in the index having the largest market capitalization (and thus the largest impact on the index), more than half (55) are non-U.S. issues. This includes corporations in each of the ten industries listed in the Industry Classification Benchmark
. It uses free-float market cap weighting.
It was originally given a value of 50 points, based on the market closing on December 31, 1965, and is weighted by the number of shares listed for each issue. It was re-introduced in January 2003 with a value of 5,000 points. The NYSE Composite outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average
, the Nasdaq Composite
, and the S&P 500
in 2004, 2005, and 2006 and closed above the 10,000 level for the first time on June 1, 2007. The NYSE Composite set a closing high of 10,311.61 on October 31, 2007 but failed to pass the intra-day high of 10,387.17 it reached in trading on October 11, 2007. On September 29, 2008, continuing troubles in the financial sector culminated in a loss of more than 8%. On November 20, 2008, the index plummeted below 5,000 to a multi-year bear market low near 4,650. Its lifetime low
(as currently calculated) stands at 347.77 points, reached in October 1974.
The index is continuously computed, and printed on ticker tape
every half hour, with point changes in the index converted to dollar amounts.
In addition to the overall composite, there are separate indices for industrial, transportation, utility, and financial corporations.
The index is the basis of the iShares
NYSE Composite Index Fund (NYC), an exchange-traded fund
.
Stock market index
A stock market index is a method of measuring a section of the stock market. Many indices are cited by news or financial services firms and are used as benchmarks, to measure the performance of portfolios such as mutual funds....
covering all common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
, including American Depositary Receipt
American Depositary Receipt
An American depositary receipt is a negotiable security that represents the underlying securities of a non-U.S. company that trades in the US financial markets...
s, Real Estate Investment Trust
Real estate investment trust
A real estate investment trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporate entity investing in real estate. The purpose of this designation is to reduce or eliminate corporate tax. In return, REITs are required to distribute 90% of their taxable income into the hands of investors...
s, tracking stock
Tracking stock
Tracking stock or targeted stock are specialized equity offerings issued by a company that is based on the operations of a wholly owned subsidiary of a diversified firm. Therefore, the tracking stock will be traded at a price related to the operations of the specific division of the company being...
s, and foreign listings. Over 2,000 stocks are covered in the index, of which over 1,600 are from United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
corporations and over 360 are foreign listings; however foreign companies are very prevalent among the largest companies in the index: of the 100 companies in the index having the largest market capitalization (and thus the largest impact on the index), more than half (55) are non-U.S. issues. This includes corporations in each of the ten industries listed in the Industry Classification Benchmark
Industry Classification Benchmark
The Industry Classification Benchmark is an industry classification taxonomy developed by Dow Jones and FTSE. It is used to segregate markets into sectors within the macroeconomy...
. It uses free-float market cap weighting.
It was originally given a value of 50 points, based on the market closing on December 31, 1965, and is weighted by the number of shares listed for each issue. It was re-introduced in January 2003 with a value of 5,000 points. The NYSE Composite outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
, the Nasdaq Composite
Nasdaq Composite
The Nasdaq Composite is a stock market index of the common stocks and similar securities listed on the NASDAQ stock market, meaning that it has over 3,000 components. It is highly followed in the U.S. as an indicator of the performance of stocks of technology companies and growth companies. ...
, and the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
in 2004, 2005, and 2006 and closed above the 10,000 level for the first time on June 1, 2007. The NYSE Composite set a closing high of 10,311.61 on October 31, 2007 but failed to pass the intra-day high of 10,387.17 it reached in trading on October 11, 2007. On September 29, 2008, continuing troubles in the financial sector culminated in a loss of more than 8%. On November 20, 2008, the index plummeted below 5,000 to a multi-year bear market low near 4,650. Its lifetime low
(as currently calculated) stands at 347.77 points, reached in October 1974.
The index is continuously computed, and printed on ticker tape
Ticker tape
Ticker tape was the earliest digital electronic communications medium, transmitting stock price information over telegraph lines, in use between around 1870 through 1970...
every half hour, with point changes in the index converted to dollar amounts.
In addition to the overall composite, there are separate indices for industrial, transportation, utility, and financial corporations.
The index is the basis of the iShares
IShares
iShares are a family of exchange-traded funds managed by BlackRock. The first iShares were known as WEBS but were since rebranded.Each iShares fund tracks a bond or stock market index...
NYSE Composite Index Fund (NYC), an exchange-traded fund
Exchange-traded fund
An exchange-traded fund is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges, much like stocks. An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, or bonds, and trades close to its net asset value over the course of the trading day. Most ETFs track an index, such as the S&P 500 or MSCI EAFE...
.