S&P 500

S&P 500 — NYSE / Nasdaq

Benchmark index tracking 500 companies listed on NYSE / Nasdaq.

Current value
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Last updated
Ticker
^GSPC
ISIN code
US78378X1072
Exchange
NYSE / Nasdaq
Currency
USD
Constituents
500

About the S&P 500

S&P 500 is the benchmark stock index of NYSE / Nasdaq, tracking 500 companies. It is free-float weighted: each company's weight depends on the share of its capital actually available for trading.

Characteristics

Index provider
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Base value
10 points
Methodology
Free-float market-capitalisation weighted
Trading hours
09:30 – 16:00 (New York)
Base date
03/01/1957
Last update
Continuously during market hours

Price history

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Historical performance

Period Performance
Today
1 month
1 year
5 years

Calculated live from Yahoo Finance closing prices (unofficial public proxy) — may be temporarily unavailable or delayed.

Track S&P 500 in your portfolio

Add the S&P 500 (symbol ^GSPC) to your virtual portfolio to track its allocation, performance and your simulated gains/losses alongside your other positions.

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Index composition

487Companies
~100 %Total weight
13Sectors covered
# Company Ticker Sector Weight

Approximate weightings (July 2026), for educational purposes. The S&P 500 tracks about 500 large US companies, reviewed quarterly by a committee. Official composition on spglobal.com.

Created in 1957 Base of 10 points (1941-1943) More than 24 all-time highs set since January 2026

What is the S&P 500?

The S&P 500 tracks about 500 large companies listed in the United States (NYSE and Nasdaq), weighted by free-float market capitalization. It represents about 80% of the total market capitalization of the US stock market and is the leading benchmark for measuring US stock performance worldwide.

How do I invest in the S&P 500?

Most individual investors access it through an ETF tracking the index (for example within a life insurance policy or retirement account in France), a low-cost and widely diversified option. It's also possible to invest through S&P 500 futures for more experienced traders, or by picking some of its 500 constituent stocks directly.

Which sectors dominate the S&P 500?

Technology accounts for about 34% of the index, led by Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet. The ten largest companies alone make up nearly 38% of its total value — an unprecedented level of concentration, comparable to that of the dot-com bubble in 2000. Financials (~13%) and healthcare (~10%) round out the top sectors.

What are the risks and limitations of the S&P 500?

Today's concentration in a handful of mega-cap technology stocks means an investor who thinks they're diversified by buying "the U.S. market" is actually carrying significant exposure to just a few companies. The index is also exclusively American: it offers no direct exposure to European or Asian markets, and its path remains highly sensitive to Federal Reserve policy decisions and the dollar.

How has the S&P 500 performed during past crises?

Between its October 2007 peak and its March 2009 low, the S&P 500 lost about 57% of its value — the worst U.S. drawdown since the 1930s — before ending 2008 down roughly 37%. The Covid-19 crash was the fastest in its history: about -34% between February 19 and March 23, 2020, in barely five weeks, followed by an equally rapid rebound that erased the losses within months. Both episodes illustrate a recurring pattern: violent declines that have historically been followed by new all-time highs, over a multi-year investment horizon.

Price and chart data fetched live from Yahoo Finance via an unofficial public proxy: it may be delayed, temporarily unavailable or inaccurate. Composition and weightings are provided for educational purposes and are not a substitute for an official source. Nothing on this page constitutes investment advice.