Stoxx launches index basket to cover major world markets

“Derivatives and structured products that offer global equity exposure often combine different indices for the Euro zone, U.S. and Japanese markets,” said Hartmut Graf, chief executive officer, STOXX Limited. “With the launch of the iSTOXX World Select Index we offer market participants an innovative index basket to access three blue-chip indices for major, global markets. The added advantage of this basket is that the underlying indices follow the same consistent and transparent methodology, and are therefore highly compatible.”

The iSTOXX World Select Index consists of three components: the EURO STOXX 50, STOXX USA 50 and STOXX Japan 50 indices, thus providing a representation of three major world market’s highly liquid blue-chips. Within the basket, the exposure is equally distributed among the three underlying indices. As a result, the over-influence of U.S. companies that typically occurs in global indices that are weighted by market capitalization, is reduced. Within each underlying index, the respective components are weighted according to their free float market capitalization. The composition of the underlying indices is reviewed annually in September, and rebalancing takes place quarterly in March, June, September and December.

The iSTOXX World Select Index is rebalanced quarterly and weights of the three components are brought back to equal allocations. This takes place at the same time of the underlying index rebalancing. The composition of the index is not reviewed, as the basket is always comprised of the same three indices. In the case that other indices might need to be included, additional index version would be made available.

The new index is available in price, gross and net return versions in Euro, and price and net return versions in U.S. Dollar Daily history is available back to December 28, 2001.