Write short notes on the following: Stock Market Index

Stock Market Index An Index is used to give information about the price movements of products in the financial, commodities or any other markets. Financial indexes are constructed to measure price movements of stocks, bonds, T-bills and other forms of investments. Stock market indexes are meant to capture the overall behaviour of equity markets. A stock market index is created by selecting a group of stocks that are representative of the whole market or a specified sector or segment of the market. An Index is calculated with reference to a base period and a base index value. Stock market indexes are useful for a variety of reasons. Some of them are - They provide a historical comparison of returns on money invested in the stock market against other forms of investments such as gold or debt. They can be used as a standard against which to compare the performance of an equity fund. It is a lead indicator of the performance of the overall economy or a sector of the economy. Stock indexes reflect highly up to date information. Modern financial applications such as Index Funds, Index Futures, Index Options play an important role in financial investments and risk management.