- Stock market reports are methods of informing investors of the performance of the stock market as a whole or specific sectors within the market. Many reports are issued by news agencies and financial service firms. These reports generally cite various indices that are used to measure the performance of the market. Various benchmarks are set from previous performance and an investor can determine what decisions they should make based on the stock market report.
- Broad-base stock market reports illustrate the performance of the whole stock market. These can be as simple as taking a snapshot of a single exchange or as elaborate as defining the conditions of markets worldwide. This shows the state of the economy and thereby investor confidence levels.
Reports on certain business sectors also give interested parties information on their investments or the condition of a particular industry such as automotive or big box stores.
Individual companies also issue stock market reports detailing the performance of their stock and investments they have made with their capital. These help investors judge the management structure of an organization and the possible changes that that stock price may have in the future. - Most stock market reports are established by looking at a proven index. An index measures the performance of a sector of the exchange, generally large companies. In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor 500 are the most valuable indices for stock market reports to analyze. International markets use the British FTSE 100, the Japanese Nikkei 225 and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index, amongst others, to judge the performance of the market.
- The challenge for many stock market reports using the tools available in reporting practices is the issue of weighting. Weighting stocks gives a different value to certain stock listings within an index, meaning that if a heavily weighted stock were to change in value, the effects on the entire index would be shifted considerably more than if the stock's value was reported based on its actual value.
This creates a system in which a stock market report that uses a weighted index has a harder time informing an investor of the actual performance of the index. - Many stock market reports have moved into a position of informing investors about specific types of investments and funds. The most popular in the twenty-first century are the reports that focus on ethical and environmentally sound sectors of the economy. Many investors have made conscious decisions to move away from unsustainable markets, such as the oil sector, and into green technology and sustainable growth industries.
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