Market Forecasting Guides

What Is the S&P 500? How the Index Works

A practical introduction to the S&P 500's structure, calculation, and role as a large-cap U.S. equity benchmark.

What Is the Nikkei 225? How Japan's Stock Index Works

An English introduction to the Nikkei 225's constituents, calculation, review process, and role in Japanese equities.

Nikkei 225 vs TOPIX: What's the Difference?

A practical comparison that keeps price-weighted and float-adjusted market-cap-weighted indexes distinct.

Market Drivers

What Moves the S&P 500? Key Market Drivers Explained

A framework for separating a headline from the several channels through which it may reach index prices.

S&P 500 Futures Explained: What They Show and How to Read Them

A guide to contract context, overnight information, price differences, and the limits of reading futures as a signal.

Nikkei 225 Futures Explained

A concise guide to futures, the cash index, contract context, and the limits of using futures prices as a forecast.

Economic Events

How Fed Interest Rates Affect the S&P 500

A framework for reading policy decisions through transmission channels and changes in expectations rather than a fixed rule.

Indicators & Charts

What Is the VIX? Understanding Volatility and the S&P 500

A clear explanation of expected volatility, option-implied information, and the limits of using VIX levels alone.

Building a Forecast

How to Forecast the S&P 500: Indicators and Time Horizons

A repeatable process for organizing evidence without promising a future index level or treating one indicator as decisive.

How to Forecast the Nikkei 225

A structured way to make a Nikkei 225 forecast without treating any one market input as decisive.