Big Review of the 3 Major US Stock Indices! How to trade the top three US index futures?
What is the US Stock Index?
The U.S. stock index is a comprehensive concept that refers to an index that tracks and reflects the overall movement of the U.S. stock market. Specifically, U.S. stock indices are classified into different categories based on the different characteristics of the industries, market capitalizations, and exchanges that are tracked.
Meanwhile,Dow Jones Industrial Average(Abbreviation: Tend/DJIA),S&P 500 IndexwithNasdaq IndicesMost commonly known are the three major U.S. stock indexes, while the Dow Jones Industrial Index (Dow) and S&P 500 are often used to reflect market movements.
Live quotes from three major US stock indices
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The top three U.S. stock indexes
Dow Jones Industrial Average Index
$Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$(DJIA), which tracks the 30 most scalable and influential U.S. corporate stocks, reflects about a quarter of the value of U.S. stocks. It is one of the oldest and most well-known stock indices in the world.
Dow Jones Industrial Averages is calculated as a share price weighting (adding up each share price and then dividing by the total number), which can only reflect the investor's earnings on a given enterprise when capital reductions occur and increase in capacity affect the share price. Changing risk attitudes reveal the market sentiment at the edge of the iceberg, but do not reflect market sentiment as a whole.
Company (Stock Code) | Exchanges | Industry Category |
3M (MMM) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Integrated Enterprise |
American Express (AXP) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Financial Services |
Apple Inc. (AAPL) | Nasdaq Stock Exchange | Consumer Electronics |
Boeing (BA) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Aerospace Manufacturing & Defense |
Chevrolet (CVX) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Oil & Gas |
Cisco Systems (CSCO) | Nasdaq Stock Exchange | Computer Network |
COCA-COLA (KO) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | drinks |
Dow (Dow) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Chemical industry |
Gao Shing (GS) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Banking, Financial Services |
Homework (HD) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | retail |
IBM (IBM) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Electronic Computing and Technology |
Intel (INTC) | Nasdaq Stock Exchange | semiconductors |
JAU SANG (JNJ) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | pharmaceutical |
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | banks |
MCDONALD'S (MCD) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | diets |
Microsoft (MSFT) | Nasdaq Stock Exchange | softwares |
Nike (NKE) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | outfits |
Show (V) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Retail Banking |
Walmart (WMT) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | retail |
Walt Disney (DIS) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Broadcasting & Entertainment |
Anjin (AMGN) | Nasdaq Stock Exchange | healthcare |
Caterpillar (CAT) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Construction and Mining Equipment |
HONEYWELL (NYSE: HON) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Integrated Enterprise |
Merck Pharmaceutical Factory (MRK) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | pharmaceutical |
Po Qiao (PG) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Consumer Goods |
Sefu Times (NYSE: CRM) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Cloud Services |
Traveller Insurance (TRV) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | underwrite |
United Health Insurance (UNH) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | Health Management |
WIZT (VZ) | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | TELECOMMUNICATIONS |
Walgreen Unified Boxing Association (WBA) | Nasdaq Stock Exchange | retail |
* Data as of December 13, 2022 |
To learn more about the Dow Jones Industrial Average, read:What is Dow Jones Industrial Index?
Nasdaq Composite Index NASDAQ Composite Index
$Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$(also referred to as), which is primarily used to track the overall price movements of a basket of stocks listed on the Nasdaq exchange, including more than 3000 constituent stocks. The constituent entities cover all sectors, of which approximately 6% come from the technology sector, and the remaining 4% come from healthcare, communications, core consumer, industrial manufacturing and non-core consumption. Since the Nasdaq Composite Index's constituents are mostly from the technology sector, it is also considered a stock index of technology stocks, as an indicator of the overall performance of the technology industry.
IN ADDITION, THE NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX (INDEX) IS CALCULATED DIFFERENTLY FROM INDICES IN THAT IT TAKES A MARKET CAPITALIZATION WEIGHTED APPROACH (COMPANY STOCK PRICE X TOTAL COMPANY SHARES = COMPANY MARKET CAPITALIZATION, THEN ADDING UP THE MARKET CAPITALIZATION OF ALL COMPANIES AND SUBTRACTING THE NUMBER OF TOTAL COMPANIES) TO MORE ACCURATELY REFLECT THE OVERALL CHANGES IN THE MARKET.
rankings | Constituent Share Name | ratio | rankings | Constituent Share Name | ratio |
1. | Microsoft | 13.25% | 6. | Google-C | 4.13% |
2. | apples | 12.46% | 7. | META | 4.1% |
3. | Amazonia | 6.82% | 8. | Tesla | 3.30% |
4th. | NVIDIA | 5.58% | 9. | Broadcom | 2.10% |
5. | Google-A | 4.18% | 10. | AMD | 1.29% |
* Data as of May 1, 2023 |
For a more detailed understanding of the Nasdaq Index, please readWhat is the Nasdaq Composite Index?
S&P 500 S&P 500 Index
$S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$(English: S&P 500 Index) is widely considered to be the only indicator that measures the performance of the U.S. blue chip stock market. It includes the top 500 listed companies in the United States, accounting for approximately 80% of the total market capitalization of the U.S. stock market, and a reference value that reflects the overall health of the U.S. stock market and economic strength.
In general, a sharp rise in the S&P 500 is often interpreted as a good signal for the economy, and falls can be seen as a signal of potential risk, and are highly regarded by analysts and policy-makers alike.
All constituent stocks that are recognized and included in the S&P 500 Index must fully meet the following conditions:
As an American company
Market capitalization of $14.6 billion
High liquidity
The number of investment shares owned by a large proportion of the population
Net Profit for 4 Consecutive Quarters
Technology, healthcare, energy and finance included the highest proportion of IT industries, at close to 30%. The top 10 ingredients with the highest percentage of ingredients are as follows: (* Data as of 29 December 2023):
rankings | Constituent share name (code) | Industry Category |
1 | Apple (AAPL) | Information Technology |
2 | Microsoft (MSFT) | Information Technology |
3 | Amazon (AMZN) | Non-Required Consumer Goods |
4 | INGWEIDA (NVDA) | Information Technology |
5 | Alphabet Holding-A (GOOGL) | Communication Services |
6 | Meta (META) | Communication Services |
7 | Alphabet Holdings -C (GOOG) | Communication Services |
8 | Tesla (TSLA) | Non-Required Consumer Goods |
9 | Foxy Heatherway (BRK.B) | Financial Services |
10 | JPMorgan Chase (JPM) | Financial and Banking Services |
* Data as of 12.29.2023 |
To learn more about Dow Jones Industrial Index, please readWhat is the S&P 500 Index?
What are US Stock Futures?
US Stock FuturesUS Stock Index Futures, also known as US equity indices, US indices and US indices. The U.S. stock index itself is simply a reflection of the stock market's movements and cannot be traded directly. If investors want to invest in US equity indices, they need to trade derivatives such as US stock index futures. Below is an overview of the three major U.S. equity futures contracts:
Dow Jones Industrial Index Futures
Dow Jones futures are derivative financial products offered by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and are also derived from Mini Dow Jones Index Futures (also known as Minor Dow Jones or YM) and Micro Dow Jones Index Futures. Investors can invest using the margin system, leverage leverage to increase funds, and perform hedging operations. A number of channels indicate that futures are one of the most traded and popular index futures commodities for efficient and more freedom.
Dow Jones Indices Futures | Mini Dow Jones Indices Futures | Micro Dow Jones Indices Futures | |
Contract Specifications | $25* Dow Jones Industrial Average | $5* Dow Jones Industrial Average | $0.5* Nasdaq 100 Index Points |
Trading Hours | Monday 6:00am to 5:00am Saturday, closed from 5:00am to 6:00am daily | ||
Minimum unit of change | 1 Index Point = $25 | 1 Index Point = $5 | 1 Index Point = $0.5 |
Contract Month | March, June, September, December | ||
Settlement method | Cash Settlement | ||
Expiration Date | Settlement on the third Friday of the contract month at 9:30 p.m. | ||
Maintenance Margin | About $44,000 | About $8800 | About $880 |
Fusing mechanism: | US Day Trading Hours: ± 7%, ± 13%, ± 20%; US Overnight Trading Hours: ± 5% |
NASDAQ INDEX FUTURES (KOONA INDEX)
NASDAQ INDEX FUTURES ARE CURRENTLY ONE OF THE MOST LIQUID AND ACTIVE INVESTMENT PRODUCTS ON THE CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE (CME).
NASDAQ INDEX FUTURES CONTRACTS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO NASDAQ 100 FUTURES AND MICRO INDEX 100 FUTURES. THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF THE CONTRACT SPECIFICATIONS FOR NASDAQ INDEX FUTURES:
NASDAQ 100 FUTURES | Micro Nasdaq 100 Futures | |
Contract Specifications | $20* Nasdaq 100 Index Points | US$2* NASDAQ 100 INDEX POINTS |
Trading Hours | Monday 6:00am to 5:00am Saturday, closed from 5:00am to 6:00am daily | |
Minimum unit of change | 0.25 Index Points = $5 | 0.25 Index Points = $0.5 |
Contract Month | March, June, September, December | |
Settlement method | Cash Settlement | |
Expiration Date | Settlement on the third Friday of the contract month at 9:30 p.m. | |
Maintenance Margin | 17,700 USD | 1,770 USD |
S&P 500 Index Futures
S&P 500 Index futures are futures contracts derived from the S&P 500 Index and can be divided into three main futures contracts: Mini S&P 500 Futures, Micro S&P 500 Index Futures and S&P Mid-Market 400 Index Futures. They are suitable for a highly liquid portfolio of investment products. Speculation and hedging. And they are based on the size of the contract value.
S&P 500 Index Futures | Micro S&P 500 Index Futures | S&P Mid-Market 400 Index Futures | |
Contract Specifications | $50* S&P 500 Index | $5* S&P Mid-Market 400 Index | $100* S&P Mid-Market 400 Index |
Trading Hours | Monday 6:00am to 5:00am Saturday, closed from 5:00am to 6:00am daily | ||
Minimum unit of change | 0.25 Index Points = $12.5 | 0.25 Index Points = $1.25 | 0.1 Index Point = $10 |
Contract Month | March, June, September, December | ||
Settlement method | Cash Settlement | ||
Expiration Date | Settlement on the third Friday of the contract month at 9:30 p.m. | ||
Maintenance Margin | 11800 USD | 1180 USD | 15,100 USD |
How to Invest in US Stock Indices?
The U.S. stock index itself is simply a reflection of the stock market's movements and cannot be traded directly. If you want to invest in US equity indices you can choose to invest in US equity index futures or you can choose to investUS Stock Indices ETFand US stock index CFDs, etc.
Futui's offering of four major exchanges (Chicago Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange, Osaka Exchange) are now online, including A50, HSBC, Nasdaq, Micron, and many other key assets that will not be supported FUTURES MARKETS IN MANY REGIONS AND COUNTRIES SUCH AS EUROPE AND MALAYSIA, LET'S SAY YOU HAVE ONE ACCOUNT, INVESTING IN FUTURES GLOBALLY. Futu investors can enjoy the following futures trading advantages:
Wide range of categories: Indices, Exchange Rates, Metals, Energy, etc
Low transaction fees: Hong Kong commission fee as low as HKD 2
Instant allocation of funds: Transfer money to a futures account, 7x24 anytime
Seamless trading without delay: Self-developed system, millisecond real-time futures trading
How to Open and Buy US Stock Futures on Futu?
In Futu, there are three steps to trade futures and futures options: Open a fixed term account, money balancing, one or two trades. The tool is described as follows:
Open a Securities Account
Step 1: Go online to Futu and sign up for a new account.(Register now)
Step 2: Open a securities account on the basis of a Futu account.(Open account now)
2. Open a futures account
Currently only registered securities account users are supported.Open a futures account;
Users who have already opened a securities account can click the trade button on the futures or futures option details page. Activation of unopened futures categories will be initiated. After activation, futures, Hong Kong futures options and CME options can be traded.
>> OPEN A FUTURES ACCOUNT TO RECEIVE FUTURES NEWCOMERS FOR A LIMITED TIME
3. Funding Allocation
Currently, only funds are supported to allow futures accounts to have sufficient funds to trade.
Transfer of funds: After the funds are transferred from the securities account to the futures account, the funds will be transferred to the account in real time.
Instruments:APP > Account > Any Account Card > Transfer > Funds Settlement > Futu Securities (Hong Kong) Funds Settlement > Select Currency > Select Transfer/Transfer Account
4. Order Transaction
Futures: “APP > Markets > Select Futures Market at the top of the page > Click on the corresponding futures” or search for futures codes by searching the search button in the upper right corner.