Google Joins Blue Chips in S&P 500 Index

Google's stock is expected to soar after the Standard & Poor's said it would add the online giant to its benchmark S&P 500 Index. Google, the Internet's most closely followed stock, will be added to the index as the close

By None

Google’s stock is expected to soar after the Standard & Poor’s said it would add the online giant to its benchmark S&P 500 Index.

Google, the Internet’s most closely followed stock, will be added to the index as the close of trading on March 31, S&P said Thursday.

The decision instantly puts Google — less than two years after going public — on the shopping list of hundreds of mutual fund managers who run portfolios that track the components of the S&P 500, Marketwatch.com reported.

Google will replace shares of Burlington Resources Inc., which is being acquired by ConocoPhillips.

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