The Tokyo Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, Deutsche Boerse AG and Standard & Poor's are planning to introduce an international index in an attempt to squelch increasing competition from smaller bourses. A global index jointly operated by the world's major stock exchanges is unprecedented. By giving investors a benchmark for internationally traded stocks, the three bourses are hoping to lure some of the money that is now pouring into technology stock-laden bourses such as the Nasdaq over-the-counter market in the U.S. The S&P Global 100, could debut by spring, TSE officials said Monday. It will be calculated in real-time from the start of TSE trading -- 9 a.m. -- to 5:15 p.m. in New York and cover 100 leading multinational companies in Asia, Europe, North and Central America. International companies capitalized at at least $5 billion have been chosen for the new index. They cover 10 industrial categories, ranging from energy to financials and information technology. The new index is based on a weighted average of market capitalization, which will be calculated as of Dec. 31, 1997. It will include 12 Japanese companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Ito-Yokado Co., Ltd. The S&P Global 100 was born out of a working group set up by the TSE and NYSE last year to explore areas in which they could cooperate, according to the TSE.
