Nasdaq Composite
Includes essentially every stock listed on the Nasdaq exchange, with a heavy tilt toward technology and growth companies.
Operator
Nasdaq, Inc.
Launched
1971
Country
United States
Methodology
Market-capitalization weighted across all Nasdaq-listed common stocks, ADRs, and similar securities.
How Investors Use This Index
The Nasdaq Composite is often confused with the narrower Nasdaq-100, which tracks only the exchange's 100 largest non-financial companies — the Composite instead includes essentially every Nasdaq-listed common stock, from mega-cap technology names down to small, thinly traded companies. Its heavy technology and growth-company weighting means it has historically shown larger swings than broader benchmarks like the S&P 500 during both rallies and downturns, since it's more sensitive to shifts in growth-stock sentiment and interest-rate expectations.
Major Sectors
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Nasdaq Composite the same as the Nasdaq-100?
No. The Composite includes essentially all Nasdaq common stock, including foreign issuers via ADRs; the Nasdaq-100 is limited to the 100 largest non-financial companies on the exchange.
Why does the Nasdaq fall harder than the Dow during sell-offs?
Its growth and technology weighting makes it more sensitive to interest-rate expectations than the more value-tilted Dow Jones Industrial Average.
What drives the Nasdaq Composite day to day?
Large-cap technology and semiconductor earnings, Federal Reserve policy expectations, and broader risk sentiment.
Does the Nasdaq Composite include foreign companies?
Yes, via ADRs and foreign private issuers listed directly on the Nasdaq exchange.