Market Indices
A market index is a tool for measuring the value of a prescribed section of the stock, commodity, currency or fixed income markets. It is computed from the value of selected assets (sometimes a weighted average). It is a tool used by investors and financial managers to describe the market, and to compare the return on specific investments. An index is a mathematical construct, so it may not always be able to be invested in directly.
There has been an accelerating trend in recent decades to create passive funds that are based on market indices, known as index or passive funds. Advocates claim that passive funds routinely beat a large majority of actively managed mutual funds. Since passive funds attempt to replicate the holdings of an index, they obviate the need for and thus many of the costs of active management. Indices are also a common basis for a related type of investment, the exchange-traded fund or ETF.
S&P/ASX 200
The S&P/ASX 200 is recognized as the institutional investable benchmark in Australia. The index covers approximately 80% of Australian equity market capitalization. Index constituents are drawn from eligible companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The S&P/ASX 200 is a highly liquid and investible index, designed to address investment managers' needs to benchmark against a portfolio characterized by sufficient size and liquidity.
http://www.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-asx-200
S&P 500
The S&P 500® is widely regarded as the best single gauge of large cap U.S. equities. There is over USD 5.14 trillion benchmarked to the index, with index assets comprising approximately USD 1.6 trillion of this total. The index includes 500 leading companies and captures approximately 80% coverage of available market capitalization.
http://www.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-500
S&P Asia 50
The S&P Asia 50 is an equity index drawn from four major Asian markets - Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. It is designed for investors seeking broad market exposure through an index that is efficient to replicate.
http://www.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-asia-50
Nikkei 225
The Nikkei Stock Average, the Nikkei 225 is used around the globe as the premier index of Japanese stocks. More than 60 years have passed since the commencement of its calculation, which represents the history of Japanese economy after the World War II. Because of the prominent nature of the index, many financial products linked to the Nikkei 225 have been created are traded worldwide while the index has been sufficiently used as the indicator of the movement of Japanese stock markets. The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted equity index, which consists of 225 stocks in the 1st section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei 225 is comprised of 225 stocks selected from domestic common stocks in the 1st section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, excluding ETFs, REITs, preferred equity contribution securities, tracking stocks (on subsidiary dividend) etc other than common stocks.