What is the difference between Dow NASDAQ and S&P?

kadmonzohar: What is the difference between Dow NASDAQ and S&P?
How come the Dow fluctuates before the opening bell?
Do I need a broker and have to pay a fee to trade or can I just buy stock straight up with no middle man?

Answers and Views:

Answer by psucunningham
The three you mentioned are completely different.

The Dow, or Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), is an index of 30 companies. It takes these 30 companies, adds up their stock prices, and that’s the Dow (it’s more complex than that, using a price-weighted approach to compensate for stock splits, but that is the easy way). Values fluctuate due to after-hours trading.

The NASDAQ is a market, just like the New York Stock Exchange. Typically, tech stocks are in this market.

The S&P 500 (Standard & Poor’s) is another index. It takes the value of the 500 U.S. stocks (for the most part) with the highest market cap.