S&P launches CDS indexes on US market

Index provider S&P has launched three S&P CDS US indexes, which are designed to provide exposure to the performance of the US credit default swap (CDS) market. The indexes can be used as underlyings for financial instruments such as structured products and ETFs.

The S&P 100 CDS Index initially comprises 80 to 90 members of the S&P 100 that have CDS's with sufficient liquidity. The weight of each constituent in the index is based upon its weight in the S&P 100. There is no minimum ratings criteria, although most reference entities are investment grade.

The US Investment Grade Index comprises 100 equally-weighted investment grade US corporate credits which meet certain liquidity criteria. The US High Yield Index comprises 80 equally-weighted high yield US