Apple, Microsoft dominance on stock indexes grows in benchmark overhaul

Tech will remain by far the largest of the 11 industries in the S&P 500. It accounts for 29% of the S&P 500, its highest in more than a year, and up from a January low of 25.3%

By Ryan Vlastelica

Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., already dominant in technology-stock indexes, are about to become even more so.
 

An overhaul of sector benchmarks compiled by S&P Global Inc. and MSCI Inc., which takes effect after the market closes Friday, will remove 11 big US stocks from technology-focused indexes. Payment companies — including Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and PayPal Holdings Inc. — will be moved into indexes tracking financial companies, while payroll processors like Paychex Inc. and Automatic Data Processing Inc. will be classified as industrials.

The departures will shrink tech’s weight in the S&P 500, while