S&P Dow Jones Indices has launched the market’s first ever index that tracks the debt of the S&P 500 companies. 

Priced in real-time throughout the day the S&P 500 Bond Index directly corresponds to movement in the US bond market, offering previously unavailable intraday transparency to the pricing of debt on America’s companies.

“S&P Dow Jones Indices is introducing the S&P 500 Bond Index at a critical juncture as two major trends converge,” says JR Rieger, head of fixed income, for S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“First, global markets are grappling with the potential end of a six-year bond rally, the end of which could have significant ramifications for portfolio debt holdings. Second, regulatory changes resulting from Dodd Frank, the post-Libor landscape, and Basel III for example, have many concerned about diminished liquidity in the bond markets."

Rieger said that as a result of these major trends, the market is begging for an intra-day measure that can provide broad transparency into company debt and that is liquid enough to potentially trade throughout the day via exchange traded and structured products.

The S&P 500 Bond Index allows for side-by-side analysis of the performance differential between US equity and bond markets. This comparison was unavailable before now.

Weighted by the market value of the bonds and with a maturity requirement of greater than one month, the S&P 500 Bond Index is liquid enough to also serve as the basis for potential exchange traded products and structured products.

S&P Dow Jones Indices has contracted with Thomson Reuters to provide end-of-day prices, as well as terms and conditions data.