Nasdaq Composite
^IXIC
Key Statistics
About Nasdaq Composite
By Liveworldmarket Editorial Team · Last reviewed 6 July 2026
Nasdaq Composite — A Practical Guide
The Nasdaq Composite is a market-capitalisation-weighted index that includes virtually every stock listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market — roughly 3,000 companies in 2026, spanning mega-cap technology, biotechnology, communications, consumer-internet, semiconductor manufacturing, and a long tail of smaller growth and small-cap names. Because the Nasdaq exchange historically attracted growth-oriented technology listings (Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco in the 1980s and 1990s; later Amazon, Google, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla), the index is the world's most-watched tech-economy benchmark.
There is an important distinction many investors miss: the Nasdaq COMPOSITE includes all Nasdaq-listed stocks, whereas the Nasdaq-100 strips out financials and keeps only the 100 largest non-financial Nasdaq-listed names. The NQ E-mini futures contract tracks the Nasdaq-100, not the Composite. The two indices move very similarly on a daily basis (correlation > 0.95) but diverge meaningfully during biotechnology or small-cap-growth specific moves, since those names are in the Composite but not the Nasdaq-100.
History & contract origins
The Nasdaq Composite launched on 5 February 1971 with a base level of 100. The Nasdaq Stock Market itself was the world's first fully electronic exchange and was originally an over-the-counter venue for unlisted stocks. The Composite gained mainstream prominence in the late 1990s during the dot-com bubble, peaking at 5,048.62 on 10 March 2000 — a level it would not retake until April 2015, fifteen years later. The Composite crossed 10,000 in mid-2020, 15,000 in late 2021, and 20,000 in late 2024.
Notable drawdowns include the 2000-2002 dot-com crash (-78% peak-to-trough — the deepest drawdown of any major modern equity index), the 2008-09 GFC (-55%), the COVID-19 crash (-30%), and the 2022 growth-stock derating (-36%). The Nasdaq's higher growth tilt means its bull-market rallies are sharper and its bear-market drawdowns are deeper than the broader S&P 500.
Trading hours & session layout
Nasdaq Composite trades during US cash hours. Pre-market and after-hours sessions are very active for tech names that report earnings outside cash hours. In IST:
| Pre-market | 13:30 IST |
| Cash open | 19:00 / 20:00 IST (DST) |
| Cash close | 01:30 / 02:30 IST (DST) |
| After-hours close | 06:30 IST |
Holiday calendar (typical annual closures)
Listed below are the major scheduled closures for the underlying exchange. Exact dates shift year-to-year — always verify against the exchange's official calendar before holding overnight positions across a holiday boundary.
| Holiday | Typical date |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January |
| MLK Jr. Day | Third Monday of January |
| Presidents' Day | Third Monday of February |
| Good Friday | Variable |
| Memorial Day | Last Monday of May |
| Juneteenth | 19 June |
| Independence Day | 4 July |
| Labor Day | First Monday of September |
| Thanksgiving Day | Fourth Thursday of November |
| Black Friday (early close) | Day after Thanksgiving |
| Christmas Day | 25 December |
How to read this tape
The Nasdaq Composite is the cleanest single-number proxy for the technology cycle. When the AI cycle is in expansion (as in much of 2023-2025), the Composite outperforms the S&P 500. When rate-hike cycles compress growth-stock valuations (2022), the Composite underperforms. The ratio of Nasdaq Composite to S&P 500 (often plotted as IXIC/SPX) is a key tactical-allocation indicator used by global macro desks.
On Liveworldmarket the Composite price refreshes every 15 seconds via Yahoo Finance. After cash close, the directional movement of the NQ E-mini futures contract usually feeds into the next Composite open, though small biotech and microcap names that report after-hours can sometimes move the Composite independently of NQ.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq-100?
Composite = ~3,000 Nasdaq-listed stocks (all of them). Nasdaq-100 = 100 largest non-financial Nasdaq-listed stocks. The Nasdaq-100 is what NQ futures and the QQQ ETF track. The Composite is what the financial media usually means when they say 'the Nasdaq'.
Why is the Nasdaq Composite so volatile?
Because of its growth-stock concentration. Growth stocks trade on long-duration earnings expectations, which are very sensitive to interest rates. A 100bp move in US 10-year Treasury yields can shift Nasdaq-listed tech valuations by 10-15%. The S&P 500, with its more balanced sector mix, is far less rate-sensitive.
Can I trade the Nasdaq Composite directly?
There is no liquid futures contract on the Composite. To trade the Nasdaq, retail traders use NQ futures (which track the Nasdaq-100), the QQQ ETF (also Nasdaq-100), or the ONEQ ETF which holds the full Composite. Indian residents access these via the LRS route.
How is the Nasdaq Composite calculated?
Free-float market-cap weighted, with adjustments for stock splits, dividends and corporate actions. The divisor is recomputed daily.
What's the relationship between Nasdaq Composite and Indian IT stocks?
Indian IT services exporters (TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech) have a moderate positive correlation with the Nasdaq because they sell to many of the same US tech-economy customers. A sustained Nasdaq drawdown often precedes weakness in the NIFTY IT index by a few weeks.
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Editorial article. Information only — not investment advice. Read our Risk Disclaimer before acting on any market data shown here.