The stock of Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) surged 7.46% during the Monday pre-market trading session following Friday’s news that it will be included in the S&P 500.

Robinhood Joins S&P 500, Marking A Milestone For HOOD Stock

The S&P Dow Jones Indices announced a major update to its benchmarks on Friday, which includes new additions to the S&P 100, S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400, and S&P SmallCap 600.

The inclusion of Robinhood in the S&P 500 is a crucial moment for the brokerage, signifying its evolution from a symbol of pandemic-driven speculation to a mainstream financial player. The company now manages billions in assets across stocks, options, and cryptocurrencies, underlining its enduring influence on retail investor participation.

This development extends beyond Robinhood, as being added to the S&P 500 automatically places the company in index funds, pensions, and retirement accounts globally. HOOD stock has surged over 415% in the past year, according to Benzinga Pro.

Companies added to the S&P 500 typically experience increased demand due to the large pool of passive investors tied to the index.

Besides Robinhood, the companies are joining the S&P 500 are AppLovin Corp. (NASDAQ:APP) and Emcor Group Inc. (NYSE:EME). They will replace MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX), Caesars Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR), and Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH), who will be moved to smaller-cap indexes.

See Also: Mark Cuban Once Dubbed Dogecoin ‘Real Money,’ While Kevin O’Leary Brushed It Off As ‘Gambling’ -- Whose Advice Would Have Netted You More Profit – Benzinga

AI Rollout In Focus, Tokenized Stocks Raise Concern

This news comes on the heels of Robinhood’s recent expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) offerings with the U.K. launch of Digests, a real-time stock analysis tool. The Digests feature, first released under Robinhood’s new Cortex AI platform, provides plain-language insights for everyday investors, breaking down complex market moves using breaking news, analyst reports, technical data, and the company’s proprietary datasets.

CEO Vladimir Tenev believes AI will transform how Americans approach investing, forecasting that market participation will become a “much bigger and more necessary part of individual lives” over the next ten years.

However, the company’s move to double up on tokenized stocks has raised concerns. A top executive of the European Union's securities watchdog warned that tokenized stock offerings could potentially lead to "investor misunderstanding."

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.