The CAC40 makes +3%. The SP500 is down 5%.
OK, but what is the SP500 and the CAC40? They are stock market indexes.
A stock market index is a numerical measure of a group of stocks merged together.
Stock indixes are a summary of the value of the stocks they represent. The movements of the index is a good approximation of the changing value of the stocks included in the portfolio over time. There are different methodologies for calculating indexes, depending on the weighting given to the stocks in the basket
This measure is used to monitor the performance of the indicated group of stocks more quickly. In fact, the change in the unit of measurement gives a rough indication of the performance of the market we are monitoring or in which we have invested. In reality the number itself that we see does not indicate much in general and can be taken as a pure point of reference in certain analyses, but what we are interested in is the percentage of movement.
Indices are many and can represent the stocks of a country or a geographic area or an industry sector and investing directly in the index is feasible to get a return from the market.
Some indexes are among the best representations of a country’s industrial performance, such as the SP500 for the united states
In contrast, some other list is not as representative because of the characteristics of the country’s industrialization in particular. This characteristic can be applied to other countries that are affected by the same of type of industrialization or other types of economies that are more skewed toward particular sectors, such as banking or tourism.
To get a return from these markets you can buy index funds, which is equivalent to buying the total index. Sometimes it does not make sense to buy the individual stock but rather the total sector or country.
An index fund can be a mutual fund or etf that copies the stock composition of the index, this makes the investor, with this product, follow the market trend.
Of course we should not buy random things on the wave of enthusiasm, before we buy a basket we have to make sure what is in that ‘index and understand its exposure. If we buy a technology index we will be exposed to all the risks of that sector, whereas if we focus on the Indian index, we will also be exposed to its country risk.
Then we have to consider how these indexes are created and how the various stocks within it are weighted.