What are the Dow and the S and P 500?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the S&P 500 are both major Stock Market indices in the United States. The Dow consists of 30 large, publicly traded companies and is price-weighted, meaning that companies with higher stock prices have a greater influence on the index. In contrast, the S&P 500 includes 500 of the largest U.S. companies and is market capitalization-weighted, reflecting the total market value of the companies. Both indices are widely used as benchmarks to gauge the overall performance of the U.S. stock market.