The Market and Indices

Stock Exchanges:

• NYSE - New York Stock Exchange, the biggest and the oldest
• NASDAQ - National Association of  Securities Dealers Automated Quotations

The Market:

***Refers to the US Stock Market as measured by the DOW Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) or simply the DOW. The DOW is not the entire market but rather an average of 30 well-known companies as chosen by The Wall Street Journal and changes occasionally.

Indices:
DOW - 30 well-known companies
S&P 500 - 500 large companies, 75% of the entire US market
S&P MidCap 400 - 400 med-size companies
S&P SmallCap 600 - 600 small companies
NASDAQ 100 - 100 top stocks from NASDAQ, most volatile.

Terminology:

IPO ( Initial Public Offering) - company's first offering of stock to the public