People just can't stop creating market indexes, according to Henry Shilling, a consultant at Performance Analytics Inc., Manalapan, N.J.
At least 16 indexes were created in the first quarter of 1997. Three cover bonds, 11 cover stocks and two, money markets.
Two of the new equity indexes replace existing benchmarks.
The AMEX Composite Index, calculated on a price-only basis, has replaced the total return AMEX MVI in the United States. The Price Index of Ecuador, which is market-value weighted, replaces Ecuador's current IAQ Index.
New market indexes also were created for Turkey by the Istanbul Stock Exchange; Portuguese government bonds by J.P. Morgan & Co.; German government securities by Lehman Brothers; and Japanese stocks and over-the-counter markets by BARRA-Nikko Securities.
The Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics and Wesselius published an index tracking Dutch microelectronics, information services and telecommunications stocks, and two stock indexes for Botswana were published by the Botswana Stock Exchange. Another two stock indexes for Latvia were announced by the Riga Stock Exchange and by Rietumu Bank.
Lehman Brothers expanded its Emerging Markets Index to cover 15 countries from four countries.
Mr. Schilling also noted publication of three other U.S. indexes: IBC Financial Data introduced the Money Fund Monitor Retail 100 and Institutional 100 indexes to cover money market funds.
The American Stock Exchange announced an equal dollar-weighted index of nine large tobacco company stocks to be used for options trading. Montgomery Securities 500 Growth Stock Index measures the 500 fastest growing U.S. companies with capitalizations of more than $200 million.
Mr. Schilling is publisher of a market index newsletter, Securities Market Indices Reporter.
