All Ordinaries
What is the All Ordinaries?
The all ordinaries, or XAO, was established in January 1980. The all ordinaries is Australia’s oldest index of shares, and is known as this due to it containing all the common or ordinary shares listed on the ASX, Australian Stock Exchange. The market capitalisation of the companies included in the All Ordinaries index amounts to over 95% of the value of all shares listed on the ASX.
On 3 April 2000, the All Ordinaries was restructured to consist of the 500 largest companies by market capitalisation. This coincided with the introduction of new benchmark indices such as the S&P/ASX 200. The importance of the All Ordinaries has been significantly lessened by the introduction of these new indices.
Learn more about the all ordinaries and the ASX at the Australian Stock Report.