Completion Instructions

There are a number of indexes that track the performance of the stock market. For this assessment please review theDow Jones Industrial Average, theS&P 500 Index, and theNASDAQ composite index. It is interesting to review how well they track alongside each other:

1. Go tohttp://bloomberg.com
2. Click the Stocks tab.
3. Click on the name of the index you want to explore.
4. Select "5Y" from the graphing options on the right side.
5. Select "View Full Chart" to enlarge the graph.
6. Repeat for each of the three indexes.

With the information available on the website, address the following in your paper.

1. Identify which index has been most volatile over the last five years.
2. Identify which index has posted the greatest gains over the last five years.
3. Now adjust the time frame to "1D". Which index has performed the best today? Which has been most volatile?
4. Describe how diversification applies in the above scenarios.

Is there a way to calculate the volatility or what do I look for?