What is the S & P 500?

The S & P 500 is a weighted index made up of 500 of the largest companies traded on the Nasdaq & NYSE.

The index is often used to determine the overall health of the American economy since it has a lot more listed companies than the Dow Jones 30.

Companies listed on the S & P 500 are not only larger, more established businesses, but benefit from extra exposure to institutional investors looking to stocks to add to their portfolio.

You can track the performance of the S & P 500 on any major financial website to see how the overall stock market is doing.