what is the nasqad 100 index 
the nasdaq 100 index is a collection of the 100 largest most actively traded companies listed on the nasdaq stock exchange the index includes companies from diverse industries like manufacturing technology healthcare and others the index excludes those in the financial sector like commercial and investment banks understanding the nasdaq 100 indexfor inclusion in the nasdaq 100 index securities must be listed exclusively on a nasdaq exchange these can include common stocks ordinary shares american depositary receipts and tracking stocks they must also be nonfinancial and have traded for at least three months on an exchange the nasdaq 100 s liquidity criteria require that each security have a minimum average daily trading value of 5 million measured over the previous three calendar months there is no market capitalization requirement 1the nasdaq 100 index is constructed using a modified capitalization method this method uses the individual weights of included items according to their market capitalization 2 weighting limits the influence of the largest companies and balances the index among all members nasdaq reviews the composition of the index each quarter and adjusts the weights if the distribution requirements are not met 3composition of the nasdaq 100 indexthe nasdaq 100 index comprises assets in various sectors except financial services there are eight total sectors which are the following as of june 20 2025 the top 10 companies by weight in the nasdaq 100 as of june 20 2024 are as follows nasdaq undertook a special rebalancing of the nasdaq 100 index on july 24 2023 the component companies weights were rebalanced to address overconcentration in the index and make it less dependent on just a few large companies nasdaq s rules state that if stocks with a weight of more than 4 5 in the index collectively account for more than 48 of the index then the index must be rebalanced nasdaq has only undertaken a special rebalance twice before in 1998 and 2011 6 the latest special rebalance was triggered by a recent rally in tech stocks and tesla shares which pushed the aggregate weight of the top five companies microsoft apple nvidia amazon and tesla above the 48 threshold the special rebalance reduced their weights and increased those of other companies like alphabet meta platforms netflix and costco the special rebalance was expected to impact the performance and volatility of the index and the individual stocks as some investors were likely to adjust their portfolios to align with the new weights however an increase in volatility never materialized but a short decline did it s difficult to say whether this was due to the rebalance or if the index was simply following the rest of the market which is more likely because prices began trading upward in october 2023 market wide investing in the nasdaq 100 indexthe nasdaq 100 index is a list of the largest 100 companies by modified market cap trading on nasdaq exchanges you have many choices for gaining exposure to the index without buying the individual stocks included in the index exchange traded funds etfs mutual funds futures and options or annuities all exist that mirror the performance of the nasdaq 100 for the average investor etfs are generally the simplest and least risky means of gaining exposure to the companies in the index 7