AGEM Index sees first year-on-year increase in the last 12 months

The AGEM Index increased by 27.33 points in September 2019 points to 500.69 points, a 5.8 percent jump from August 2019, and 1.6 percent up from September 2018, the first year-on-year increase in 2019, and in the last 12 months. The growth was driven largely by an 18.6 percent rise in the stock price of International Game Technology (IGT), which increased from $11.98 to $14.21. The stock was responsible for 8.14 points of the AGEM Index's monthly gain. 

Konami experienced an 8.4 percent stock price gain from ¥4,815 to ¥5,220, which led to an index contribution of 6.50 points. Overall, most AGEM Index companies reported increases in stock price during the month, with 10 trending positively and three moving negatively.

The major stock indices performed well as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 experienced monthly growth of 2.0 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively. The NASDAQ experienced a modest gain of 0.5 percent.

The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) produces the monthly AGEM Index that comprises 13 global gaming suppliers throughout the world. A total of nine suppliers are based in the United States and are listed on the NYSE, Nasdaq or OTC market, while two trade on the Australian exchange, one on the Tokyo exchange, and another trades on the Taiwan OTC exchange.

The index is computed based on the month-end stock price (adjusted for dividends and splits) of each company and weighted based on approximation of market capitalization. Market capitalizations for manufacturers trading on foreign exchanges have been converted to US dollar-equivalents as of month-end for comparability purposes. The AGEM Index is based on a 100-point value as of January 2005.