Opening of the CAC 40 index on February 15

Day without change for the CAC 40which inaugurates the day of Wednesday February 15 with a variation of the 0.18%until the 7,227.13 dots, after the start of the opening session. Compared to previous dates, the CAC 40 Accumulate three consecutive winning sessions.

Compared to the profitability of the last seven days, the CAC 40 record an increase of 1.51%so that a year ago it still maintains a rise of 6.58%. He CAC 40 is located at 0.09% below its maximum this year (7,233.94 points) and a 9.59% above its minimum valuation so far this year (6,594.57 points).

What is a stock index and what is it used for?

a stock market index It is an indicator that shows how the value of a given set of assets is changingfor which it collects data from different companies or sectors of a market fragment.

These indicators are mainly used by the stock markets of different countries of the world and each of them can be integrated by companies with specific needs like having a similar market capitalization or being in the same type of industry, similarly, some indices only consider a handful of stocks to determine their value or others that consider hundreds of stocks.

Stock indices serve as indicator of confidence in stock market, business confidence, health of national and global economy and stock investment performance and shares of a company. Generally, if investors are not confident, stock prices tend to fall.

They are also working to measure the performance of an asset manager and allow investors to compare profitability and risk; measure the opportunities of a financial asset or create portfolios.

These types of indicators began to be used at the end of the 19th century after the journalist Charles H. Dow. To see carefully how company stocks tended to rise or fall together in price, he therefore created two indexes: one that contained the 20 largest railroad companies (since that was the largest industry in era), as well as 12 shares of other types of companies

Today there are various indices and they can be grouped according to their geography, their sectors, the size of the company or the type of assetFor example, the U.S. Nasdaq index is made up of the 100 largest companies with broad technology connections such as Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Facebook (FB), Alphabet (GOOG), Tesla ( TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), PayPal (PYPL), Comcast (CMCSA), Adobe (ADBE).

How is it calculated and how to read them?

Each stock index has its own calculation method, but the main component is the market capitalization of each company that incorporates it. This is obtained by multiplying the current value of the security on the corresponding stock market by the total number of shares that are in the hands of investors.

Listed companies are required to present a balance sheet of its composition. This report must be made public every three or six months, as the case may be.

Reading a stock market index also involves taking into account its evolution over time. Current indices always start with a fixed value based on stock prices on their start date, but not everyone follows this method. Therefore, it can be misleading.

If one index sees an increase of 500 points in one day, while another only gets 20, it may seem that the former has performed better. However, if the first started the day at 30,000 points and the other at 300, it can be assumed that in percentage terms the gains for the second were higher.

What are the main stock market indices?

Between the major US stock indices is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, better known as the Dow Jones, made up of 30 companies. Likewise, the S&P500, which includes 500 of the largest companies on the New York Stock Exchange. Finally, we must not forget the Nasdaq 100that connects 100 of the largest non-financial companies.

On the other hand, the most important indices of Europe are the Euro Stoxx 50, which covers the 50 largest companies in the euro area. Furthermore, the DAX 30, the main German index containing the strongest companies on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange; there FTSE100 the London Stock Exchange; he CAC 40 of the Paris Stock Exchange; and the IBEX 35of the Spanish stock exchange.

In Asiathe main stock market indices are the Nikki 225, made up of the 225 largest companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. There is also the SSE composite index, which can be considered China’s preeminent, made up of the most prominent companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Also, it is worth mentioning the Hang Seung Index in Hong Kong and the KOSPI in South Korea.

As it concerns Latin Americayou have the IPCwhich contains the 35 Most Outstanding Companies on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV). At least a third of them belong to the capital of tycoon Carlos Slim.

Another is the Bovespa, composed of the 50 most important companies of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange; he Merval from Argentina; he IPSA From Chile; he MSCI COLCAP Columbia; he IBC of Caracas, made up of 6 companies from Venezuela.

Finally, there are other types of global stock indices such as the MSCI Latin Americawhich includes the 137 most important companies from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Likewise, there is MSCI World, which brings together 1,600 companies from 23 developed countries; he MSCI Emerging Markets, made up of more than 800 companies from developing countries; and the S&P Global 100made up of the 100 most powerful multinational corporations on the entire planet.