The S&P 500 is a stock index comprised of 500 mostly American Companies and maintained by Standard and Poor's. The index is comprised of large companies from a variety of industries; these include ExxonMobil, General Electric, AT&T and Microsoft.
On September 15, 2008, the S&P 500 fell 59 points, a 4.7% drop and the index's largest since the economic chain reaction caused by the 9-11 terrorist attacks.USA Today: Dow plunges 504 points; S&P suffers biggest drop since 9/11 (September 15, 2008)
Key Dates
- 1926: Standard de Poor developed with 26 industry groups and 233 companies
- 1957:The S&P 500 introduced to the market and consists of 425 Industrials, 60 Utilities and 15 Rails
- 1966: The McGraw-Hill Companies purchases Standard & Poor's
- 1986: S&P computer has a technological advancement, and now can disseminate values in 15-second intervals oppose to 1-minute intervals
- 1998: The composite index closed at over $1,000 for the first time
- 2001: Index falls 53.77 points on September 17
- 2008: Preceded by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, the index drops 59 points on September 15USA Today: Dow plunges 504 points; S&P suffers biggest drop since 9/11 (September 15, 2008)
Notable Companies
References
Fast Facts
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Fact:
Established in 1957
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Fact:
Standard and Poor's is a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
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Fact:
The index covers 90 specific industries
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Fact:
The S&P MidCap 400 Index launched in 1991
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Fact:
S&P/BARRA Growth Index and S&P/BARRA Value Index were introduced a year later in 1992
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S&P base period
