Investing in an ETF that tracks the S&P 500 gives you exposure to 500 or so of the largest and best companies on the market, essentially giving you the opportunity to grow your money along with the market. The large number of stocks, plus the index's regular changing of its components based on how they grow or shrink, minimizes your risk.

Hess is being acquired by Chevron after the energy company won arbitration with rival Exxon. Robinhood and AppLovin are two of its possible replacements in the S&P 500 index.

The three major US indices all continue to look strong in general, as we are heading into the all-time highs in two of three of them.

The S&P 500 index is meant to be broadly representative of the U.S. economy. The well-known index is also a key gauge for tracking the U.S. stock market. The S&P 500 is what just about everyone uses to monitor the performance of the U.

The S&P 500’s 11 sectors were trading mixed early afternoon Friday, with gains led by utilities. The utilities sector was up a sharp 1.7%, according to FactSet data, at last check. By contrast, the S&P 500 index was nearly flat,

RBC Capital Markets on Sunday raised its S&P 500 index year-end target to 6,250 from 5,730, its second hike this year, citing stronger investor sentiment and growing focus on 2026 economic prospects.

Warren Buffett Says Most Investors Should Buy This Vanguard Index Fund. It Could Turn $500 Per Month Into $1 Million.

SSO offers 2x daily S&P 500 exposure, making it suitable only for active traders due to daily resets and compounding risk. Read more on why I recommend SSO.