Numerous averages and indexes have come online since the 5th edition: S&P 100, S&P 500, Russell 200, and so on. It would be an exercise in daily journalism to attempt to list all the indexes now available. New ones spring up like wees after the spring rain. This is because the invention of a widely adopted index can be very lucrative for its creator. S&P and Dow Jones collect licensing fees from the "use" of their indexes by the exchanges. The constant addition of new trading instruments requires that current lists be kept in Resources, and the reader may also consult The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and The Investor's Business Daily where prices of indexes and averages are reported. Online brokerages and financial news sites also offer up to the minute lists and quotes on virtually all trading instruments. A list and links to these sites may also be found in Resources (Appendix D) and at edwards-magee.com. As of the turn of the century, the most important of these indexes, joining Dow, are probably the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ. In fact these are probably sufficient for economic analysis and forecasting purposes, and certainly good trading vehicles by means of surrogate instruments, options, and futures. Some would include the Russell 2000 in this list. These indexes and averages have been created to fill needs not filled adequately by the Dow Jones Averages.
With this proliferation of measures of the market and various parts of it, a different question arises. That is, the value of the Dow alone in indicating the Broad Market Trend is now questionable. Limited research has been done on this question. It is, however, my opinion that the Broad Market Trend must now be determined by examining the Dow Industrials, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ.
Bassetti, Technical Analysis of Stock Trends
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