What is the Nasdaq Composite?

Key Takeaways

• The Nasdaq Composite tracks nearly all of the companies that are listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

• The index comprises nearly 50% of technology stocks. 

• The index has outperformed many other stock market indexes over the past 10 years.

Understanding the Nasdaq Composite

"Today Dow Jones Industrial Average slips 0.21%, S&P 500 index down 0.03%, Nasdaq gains 0.21%..."  Together with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite is one of the three most popular stock indexes reported in the financial press or as part of the evening news to represent how the stock market is performing on any given day.

The Nasdaq Composite tracks nearly all of the companies that are listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, which includes many high-growth technology stocks. Because it comprises nearly 50% of technology stocks, the Nasdaq Composite is generally considered a stand-in for the performance of the overall tech industry.

The most popular are Meta Platforms, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet C, which are listed on the Nasdaq stock market. 

Unlike the S&P 500, which consists of companies that can only come from America, the Nasdaq Composite includes many companies from other countries. For example, Alibaba, Bilibili, and other outstanding technology companies listed on the Nasdaq stock market are based in China.

Over the past 10 years, the Nasdaq Composite has outperformed many other stock market indexes. Its ticker symbol is IXIC. The easiest way to invest in the Nasdaq Composite is through a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that passively tracks the index.