United States-based casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp will be added to the S&P 500, one of the most commonly followed composite indexes of stocks in the U.S. The firm will also be added to its casinos and gaming sub-industry index.
The announcement was made last week by S&P Dow Jones Indices, the entity that compiles the index. The change will become effective prior to the opening of trading on Thursday, said S&P Dow Jones Indices.
The S&P 500 is a stock market index in the United States based on the market capitalisations of 500 large companies that have common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. It is regarded as one of the best single gauges of those U.S. equities issued by companies with large-scale market capitalisation, also known as “large-cap” stocks.
Las Vegas Sands runs gaming operations in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the U.S. (pictured) and in Asia. The firm is the parent of Macau-based casino operator Sands China Ltd. One of Las Vegas Sands’ subsidiaries runs Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino resort.
Other casino operators with Macau exposure featured in the S&P 500 include MGM Resorts International, the parent of Macau-based operator MGM China Holdings Ltd; and Wynn Resorts Ltd, the controlling shareholder of Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd.
Las Vegas Sands will replace Nektar Therapeutics in the index, as the latter “is ranked near the bottom of the S&P 500 and has a market capitalisation more representative of the mid-cap market space,” the S&P Dow Jones Indices release stated.
