Introduced in July 2005, the FTSE NASDAQ 500 is one of four indexes in the FTSE NASDAQ Index Series. It includes the 500 largest NASDAQ companies by market capitalization with an emphasis on technology stocks. Its holdings encompass the holdings of two other indexes, the FTSE NASDAQ Large Cap and the FTSE NASDAQ Mid Cap. Taobiz explains FTSE NASDAQ 500 Index This index can be thought of as similar to the S&P 500, but for NASDAQ stocks. Some of the top stocks in the FTSE NASDAQ 500 Index are Microsoft, Cisco, Google, Apple, and Intel. The index is free-float weighted and is reviewed every year in the first week of December.