S&P 500
Region: US · Currency: USD
Price history
Other indices
What drives the price
The S&P 500 is the most-watched US equity benchmark, tracking 500 large-cap companies weighted by free-float market capitalisation. It covers roughly 80% of available US market cap and is the reference index for most US-domiciled ETFs and index funds, including SPY, VOO and IVV.
- Federal Reserve policy and 10-year Treasury yields drive the discount-rate component of valuations
- Quarterly earnings season (Jan/Apr/Jul/Oct) sets the bottom-up signal — beats/misses move the index
- Mega-cap tech weights (Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet) concentrate index sensitivity to a few names
- Sector rotation between cyclicals, defensives and tech tracks the macro narrative
Frequently asked questions
What is the S&P 500?
The S&P 500 is a stock market index that tracks 500 large-cap US companies, weighted by free-float market capitalisation. It is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices and is the most widely-followed gauge of US large-cap equity performance.
How is the S&P 500 different from the Dow?
The S&P 500 holds 500 companies weighted by market capitalisation, while the Dow holds just 30 companies weighted by share price. Because the S&P 500 is broader and uses cap-weighting, it is the institutional preferred benchmark for US equity exposure.
Can I invest directly in the S&P 500?
You cannot buy the index itself, but you can hold ETFs that track it exactly — SPY (SPDR), VOO (Vanguard) and IVV (iShares) are the three largest. Each provides essentially identical exposure with annual expense ratios of 0.03-0.09%.
What companies have the largest weight in the S&P 500?
The top weights are mega-cap technology companies — typically Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta — which together account for roughly 30% of the index. This concentration means index returns are heavily influenced by these few names.
Latest news
See all →
China Asks Bankers to Avoid Underwriting Short-Term LGFV Bonds
China is directing bankers to avoid underwriting short-term bonds for local government financing vehicles, tightening credit access for weaker municipal borrowers.
Wayfair CFO Kate Gulliver on Profitable Growth and Store Expansion
Wayfair CFO Kate Gulliver is steering the home goods retailer toward profitable growth amid a housing market downturn while launching a new brick-and-mortar flagship store initiative.
Dow Falls on Oil Spike, Middle East Tensions; OpenAI’s Altman to Speak Thursday
The Dow fell on Wednesday as rising oil prices and Middle East tensions weighed on sentiment, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is scheduled to speak on Thursday.
About this index
S&P 500 is one of the most-tracked equity benchmarks in its market. NowPrice publishes the live level along with intraday range and a 24-hour / 7-day / 30-day price-history chart. Data is sourced from Yahoo Finance and refreshed every 5 minutes during local trading hours; outside of session, the figure is the most recent close.