Index Name:  NASDAQ Composite Index.

Nickname:  The NASDAQ Index.

Publishing Company:  National Association of Securities Dealers.

Base Year:  1,971.

Number of Components:  All of the stocks traded on the NASDAQ (about 4,800).

Weight:  According to Market Cap.

 

The NASDAQ index includes all of the stocks traded on the NASDAQ market, and therefore it includes a large number of technology stocks.  The index includes leading, established companies alongside young start-ups.

 

Here are a few examples of stocks included in the NASDAQ index:

Established Companies Young Companies
Microsoft Amazon.com
Intel eBay
Qualcomm Affymetrix
Amgen Palm
Dell Computers Apple
Google Comfast

As the technology sector has developed and grown more important to the American economy, the NASDAQ has grown in importance as well.  The NASDAQ index is thought to be the key measure of the technology sectors success and behavior, and its effect is strongly felt throughout Silicon Valley.

 

Graph 9 describes the development of the NASDAQ Index since 1971.

Graph 9

The NASDAQ Index Since 1971 (the y-axis is labeled in index units)

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