Index

1.

A number showing the variation in price of a group of securities with respect to a chosen base period.

Indices may be calculated as arithmetical or geometric averages and individual components may be weighted, for example by market capitalisation.

For example the FTSE 100 or the S&P 500.

2.

A comparable measure in relation to any set of data.

For example, inflation indices.

See also

• Composite indices
• Equity swap
• Exchange-traded funds
• FTSE 100
• Herfindahl index
• MSCI
• S&P 500
• Statistics
• Tracker fund