EquitiesS&P Dow Jones IndicesContinuous
S&P 500 Index
What is S&P 500 Index?
Market-cap weighted index of 500 large U.S. companies.
Why it matters
The benchmark for U.S. equity performance.
How to read prints
When it rises
Risk-on; equity valuations expanding.
When it falls
Risk-off; equity valuations compressing.
Frequently asked
What is the S&P 500?⌄
A market-cap-weighted index of 500 of the largest U.S. publicly traded companies. It is the standard U.S. equity benchmark.
What is the difference between SPX, SPY, and ES?⌄
SPX is the index; SPY is the State Street ETF tracking it; ES is the CME E-mini S&P 500 futures contract.
What is a typical S&P 500 P/E ratio?⌄
The long-run forward P/E averages around 16-17x. Above 20x is rich; below 14x is cheap.
How concentrated is the index?⌄
The top 10 names account for ~35% of market cap as of 2024, the highest concentration since the 1970s.
Track it on Market Ontology
Monitor S&P 500 Index in real time on Overview / Macro Regime Dashboard, alongside regime classification, transmission mapping, and cross-asset context.
| Source | S&P Dow Jones Indices |
| Frequency | Continuous |
| Category | Equities |
| FRED Series | SP500 |
| Unit | index |
| Related Module | Overview / Macro Regime Dashboard |
Track S&P 500 Index in real time
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