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index stocks

index stocks questions and answers

Learn about index stocks at the number one young investor website Teen Analyst.

Q: I've never invested in anything but index funds; how do I get started on individual stocks?
I'm interested in branching out a bit now that my portfolio is a bit more mature. Don't even know how to get started on buying individual stocks, however.

A: Why? If you think about it, about 90% of stock funds are outperformed by the indexes! Perhaps you could sate your desire for "individual stocks" by buying one or more of the ETF "Index tracking stocks" like SPY, DIA, QQQ, etc... It's not a great idea to only own one or two stocks, unless that's just "fun money", because of the nature of individual companies; if you ARE going to hold individual names, you should own enough different ones that you have "insurance" against a large loss if one company turns out to be the next Enron, Global Crossing, or whatever... Best wishes. Full disclosure: I don't necessarilly practice what I preach, LOL, since at any one time I do own only four or five individual stocks, I usually hold some of the "Dogs of the Dow"...

Q: When is the best time to get the stock index?
I need to do a daily stock-watch report at 4pm Bangkok time, but the indices change so often. My boss told me to get the index at the closest closing time. Do you have any information on these indices? Nikkei 225. Topix. Hang Seng. CSI 300 Taiex. S&P/ASX 200 MSCI Asia Paciffic Dow Johns. NASDAQ.

A: Considering that the markets you mention do have different hours, I'd recommend picking them up early enough for you to get your report done on time. So if your report's due at 2pm. Perhaps get the prices at 12 each day to have a consistent reporting period. Now if he/she wants the closing price for each index, you could always say prices are as of xxx pm. and then the next day you can update any prices of any indexes that were still trading. For most of the Asian markets, a local website will probably give you a bit better info than most US sites. For Dow and Nasdaq, you can use finance.yahoo.com. Both prices will come up on that page. Hope that helps!

Q: What two stocks/index funds should I buy RIGHT NOW?


A: If you intend to withdraw the money many years from now, equity index funds with no load and low expenses would be the best. eg. US large cap, US small cap, international,.. probably a combination. Vanguard is a pretty good fund family for index funds - both the variety and fund expenses.

Q: Index, Mutual, ETF,IRA, Stocks...?
I have a little money to invest (few thousand). I have no 401k and am reading about stocks, index and mutual funds. I think from just reading up on this I prefer now the index over mutual fund. 1. With all the 1000's to choose from which do you pick? 2. Can I withdraw and deposit from an index fund whenever I want? Which funds are the best?

A: Starting out in the investing world can be quite intimidating. You're on the right track looking at index funds. Here are some things to consider when choosing: 1) Are you investing for the long run (8+ years)? If so, you should consider index funds that track stock markets as they have higher risk and higher expected returns in the long run. If you are a short term investor (less than 8 years) you want more bonds as they are less likely to lose money in the short term. 2) Fees. Minimizing fees is important when choosing the right fund. Index funds tend to have much lower fees than mutual funds and they range anywhere from 0.2% to 2.0% per year in addition to any purchase costs or sales costs. In my experience Vanguard has the lowest fees in the industry (usually 0.2% - 0.45% for index funds). 3) Track record. How has the fund done over the last 10 years (or longer) compared to other similar funds? 4) Minimum investment. Most funds have a minimum amount you can invest, it typically ranges from $1,000 to $10,000. This will be important depending on exactly how much you can invest right now. Some suggestions: -Vanguard! They have the lowest fees, a great track record, and they are very user friendly. I use them for all my investments outside of my work 401k plan. -ROTH IRA. I don't know if you're considering this as a retirement account at all, but you should be if you don't have a retirement account started already. It's pretty clear that the government and most companies won't take care of you in your old age so you'll have to take care of yourself. The sooner you start, the easier it will be. The ROTH is the most advantageous retirement investment vehicle for most people. Read about it here: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/accounttypes/retirement/ATSRothIRAOverviewContent.jsp The basics: Your money grows tax free. When you withdraw the money in retirement it's tax free. You can withdraw the money you put in at any time without any taxes or penalties (but it's best to not withdraw the money if possible since this money is for your retirement.) Even if you don't want this to be a retirement account at this time, you might consider the ROTH IRA since you can withdraw the money you put in (but not the interest you earn) at any time tax free. In any other account you'll owe taxes. If you are in an Index Fund without a ROTH IRA you will owe capital gains tax on any interest you earn when you withdraw the money. Which index fund: Target Retirement Funds. These are by far the best funds for non-expert investors. They give you a good amount of risk/reward for your age group, and as you get older they automatically become less risky. You can just put your money in and never worry about it again (except to add additional money to it). https://personal.vanguard.com/us/FundsVGIClosestMatch?searchtype=all&tosearch=target Choose the date (2010-2050) that is closest to your expected retirement date to see details of the fund. Each of these funds is invested in several different index funds (S&P 500, bonds, Europe, Pacific) so you will be very diversified, and the fees are extremely low (0.21%) Best of luck with your investing decisions!

Q: Which stock index reflects the insurance industry of China?
1. Which insurance companies in China constitute the insurance industry of China ? 2. Which stock index reflects the insurance industry of China ? 3. Which stock index reflects the sector including concerns of varied investment of venture capital funds of China ?

A: here is the wiki answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Life_Insurance There are a lot of good links here to start exploring.

Q: any one can help me to get the index of equity stocks bellow the price 10rs..!?
i want the list of equity shares bellow the price 10rs..! and how can get the index of perticular range of prise at bse & nse(registered stocks only).

A: The stocks that constitute an index, are predetermined by the exchanges. Of course the list will be frequently modified, but will be fixed and will be under the control of the exchange. You cannot calculate an index for your own list of stocks.

Q: on what basis adjusted closing price calculated for stocks and index?


A: The closing index is computed at the end of `continuous trading session’ on the basis of official closing prices of components stocks. The algorithm to calculate the closing prices is as follows: if 20 market lots have been traded during the last 15 minutes, then the weighted average price for the last 20 market lots would be considered, if 20 market lots have not been traded, but at least 10 trades have taken place during the last 15 minutes, the weighted average price for the last 10 trades would be considered, if 10 trades have not taken place during the last 15 minutes, but have taken place during the last 30 minutes, the weighted average price for the last 10 trades would be considered, if 10 trades have not taken place but at least one trade has taken place during the last 30 minutes, the weighted average price of all trades in the last 30 minutes would be considered, and if there are no trades during the last 30 minutes, then the last traded price would be taken as the official closing price. Weighted average price, calculated as above, would be rounded off to the nearest tick.

Q: Is there a way to short an index of agricultural stocks?


A: Well, you can short MOO. But you had better be right, or have very deep pockets. Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF AMEX:MOO

Q: Is there a correlation between democratic or republican governments and the stock index?
The ups and downs of stock indexes are usually seen as indicators of business climate. It is also thought that republican governments tend to be more pro-business than democratic ones. So it could be expected that stock indexes perform better in republican presidential terms than in democratic ones. But of course, many other factors could offset this influence. So the question may be rephrased as: Is there empirical evidence of a correlation between the performance of the stock markets and the party in power?

A: Democrats do better. Take a look her, for instance: http://www.slate.com/id/2071929

Q: Is there any index tracking the whole world of stocks?
Similar to the S&P500 but with shares from all over the world and most of developed countries... Thanks

A: Not exactly. There are a couple that come close but do not quite achieve that purpose. EFA is one. It contains stocks in companies of Japan, UK, France, Germany, Australia, and several other European countries. No U S stocks. No developing nations stocks. Nevertheless, it is worth a look. 5 year annual return is better than 15%. ADRD is another to consider. It contains stocks of developed nations companies that are traded as ADRs in the U S. Again no U S stocks and no developing nations stocks. 3 year return about 15%. Has not been around as long as EFA. DGT is a little different. This contains stocks of the world's largest companies. Over 50% of the portfolio is U S companies. Three largest holdings are Exxon, GE, and Microsoft DOL is sort of interesting and worth a look. It contains large cap dividend paying stocks from around the world. No U S stocks however. Only been around for 6 months, but has increased nicely in value since that time. 22% annual return. There are others that partially meet your criteria. Here is a link to the index funds of world stocks. http://www.etfconnect.com/select/fundpages/etf_funds.asp?MFID=161843

Q: How to use turbotax to report stock index option trading?
For index option trading, there is a 60/40 rule. 60 percent of the profit is considered long term capital gain. 40 percent is considered short term capital gain. Does anyone how to report this in turbox so that turbotax knows the 60 percent part is for long term capital gain? Thanks. Thanks. BTW, I use turbotax online. How do I manually override with "long term capital gain"?

A: Over ride the form if you think it is calculating improperly or search for "long term capital gain" within the program.

Q: What stocks make up the Dow Index?
Please provide link to the entire listing.

A: COMPANY NAMEPRIMARY EXCHANGETICKERSTYLEICB SUBSECTORMARKET CAP RANGEWEIGHT PCTUSD CLOSE 3M Co.New York SEMMMN/ADiversified IndustrialsLrg. Cap.5.04735972173.59 Alcoa Inc.New York SEAAVALAluminumLrg. Cap.1.8943888527.62 Altria Group Inc.New York SEMOVALTobaccoLrg. Cap.5.24969307176.54 American Express Co.New York SEAXPGROConsumer FinanceLrg. Cap.3.78466244655.18 American International Group Inc.New York SEAIGVALFull Line InsuranceLrg. Cap.4.54735629266.3 AT&T Inc.New York SETVALFixed Line TelecommunicationsLrg. Cap.2.21057757632.23 Boeing Co.New York SEBAGROAerospaceLrg. Cap.5.48494845679.97 Caterpillar Inc.New York SECATN/ACommercial Vehicles & TrucksLrg. Cap.4.4828839765.36 Citigroup Inc.New York SECVALBanksLrg. Cap.3.39439913949.49 Coca-Cola Co.New York SEKOVALSoft DrinksLrg. Cap.3.05214713444.5 E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.New York SEDDVALCommodity ChemicalsLrg. Cap.2.93006124942.72 Exxon Mobil Corp.New York SEXOMVALIntegrated Oil & GasLrg. Cap.4.59536759567 General Electric Co.New York SEGEVALDiversified IndustrialsLrg. Cap.2.4348589535.5 General Motors Corp.New York SEGMVALAutomobilesLrg. Cap.2.29768379833.5 Hewlett-Packard Co.New York SEHPQVALComputer HardwareLrg. Cap.2.58300811437.66 Home Depot Inc.New York SEHDGROHome Improvement RetailersLrg. Cap.2.49247251436.34 Honeywell International Inc.New York SEHONVALDiversified IndustrialsLrg. Cap.2.8360962741.35 Intel Corp.NASDAQ NMSINTCGROSemiconductorsLrg. Cap.1.40124417920.43 International Business Machines Corp.New York SEIBMVALComputer ServicesLrg. Cap.5.61526485181.87 Johnson & JohnsonNew York SEJNJGROPharmaceuticalsLrg. Cap.4.46436532565.09 JPMorgan Chase & Co.New York SEJPMVALBanksLrg. Cap.3.21469968946.87 McDonald's Corp.New York SEMCDVALRestaurants & BarsLrg. Cap.2.7098951339.51 Merck & Co. Inc.New York SEMRKVALPharmaceuticalsLrg. Cap.2.85804429441.67 Microsoft Corp.NASDAQ NMSMSFTGROSoftwareLrg. Cap.1.87518432927.34 Pfizer Inc.New York SEPFEVALPharmaceuticalsLrg. Cap.1.94171427828.31 Procter & Gamble Co.New York SEPGGRONondurable Household ProductsLrg. Cap.4.25517321862.04 United Technologies Corp.New York SEUTXN/AAerospaceLrg. Cap.4.38274610963.9 Verizon Communications Inc.New York SEVZVALFixed Line TelecommunicationsLrg. Cap.2.54734257437.14 Wal-Mart Stores Inc.New York SEWMTGROBroadline RetailersLrg. Cap.3.32238218448.44 Walt Disney Co.New York SEDISN/ABroadcasting & EntertainmentLrg. Cap.2.09397869730.53

Q: What is going on with the stock market!!!? All 3 of my index funds are sinking like crazy...?
I own vnaguard total international stock index, total stock index, & gaaex (alternative energy companies)---- ALL are sinking EVERY day for the past few days--- Im losing 1000s... is it time to pull out or wait it out? I am willing to leave this money alone for 5-10 years --- but all these sharp declines across the board are making me jittery

A: From the tone of your question, it sounds like you have taken on more risk than you can tolerate. That indicates that you are probably in the wrong investments. If you did not do this when you bought your funds, its time to consider why you should won these investments, and what catalyst will cause you to sell. Each or your funds is reacting to slightly different catalysts. 1;) alternative energy index: This fund will tend to move with the price of crude oil. Crude has fallen back down to the $90 level. Its fairly normal for oil to sink as we approach the end of the heating season, then pick up again when the summer driving/hurricane season starts. If you believe the long term trend for energy demand and oil prices is up, just ride it out and keep this fund. If you believe that oil has peaked and will continue to fall, sell. 2.) total stock index: the general market has been down since the beginning of a year. Most technical analysts are now saying we are in a bear (down trending) market. If you have a short time frame (less than a year), sell on an up day. If you have a longer time frame, ride it out. 3.) International stock index: Most of the world markets have been experiencing a pull back. Pull backs are normal and expected. I f you believe that the worldwide expansion is intact, hold on. If you believe we are heading into a worldwide slow down, get out.

Q: Volatility for stocks, Index, Futures?
Hello Everybody, I heard that volatility moves in opposite direction for stocks (i.e, Inversely propotional) and indexes. But for some Futures , Volatility Moves in opposite direction as stocks or indexes. But not for all Futures, Volatility Moves in opposite direction.....is that correct?Can anyone please tell me the names of such commodities whose volatility Moves in same direction as Futures price? Thank you,

A: In general stocks move in opposite direction of volatility. One most common indicator is the VIX which tracks the S&P500. VIX is a fear gauge of the market. Back in Sept/Oct the VIX reached above 70 as the market kept dropping but has since dropped as the market has stabilized. Inverse ETFs follows the volatility. Some of them are: DOG, QID, SDS, SDD, TWM, EUM, FXP

Q: Investing: ETFs or Index Funds instead of Stocks?
I am planning to start investing but I have no real interest in "beating the market"; staying with the market is good enough for me, and it seems to me that ETFs and index funds are the ways to do this. If I do not want to deal with researching individual stocks, and I am satisfied with "staying with the market", what are the drawbacks of replacing all the stocks in my portfolio with ETFs and index funds? I am a novice so I would also like to know what the difference between ETFs and index funds are, where I can go to learn more about them, and how I would choose, say, a Vanguard fund over a T. Rowe Price fund. Of course I would invest internationally, having a representation of all the major global markets in my portfolio instead of just the USA or something...

A: If you don't have the time, energy, or intellect (no offense) to research individual stocks, an index fund or ETF is a great idea. While you DO have the risk of being in the market, you have the safety of having a portfolio that holds many stocks. Historically, 10% per year is what an S&P index would provide. Put in $1000 when you're 21 and it'll grow to $41,000 by the time you're 60. If you pick the right stocks, you can double your money overnight. But how many of us can really do that? So, I think ETF/index funds are a good way to get started and should be part of an overall financial plan. Note: I repeat that they carry risk and you could lose it all, so make sure you also have money in other places. The difference between index funds and ETFs? ETFs are traded like stocks. So, you can buy and see whenever you want. With funds, a purchase or sale may not occur for hours. As such, you have less control. You can't sent "stop loss" orders or "buy" orders to sell/buy based on certain things happening. So, ETFs give more control. However, you'll pay the same fees as with stocks. As such, your fees might end up being more than with an index fund. However, if you just plan to sit on the investment, it's a wash.