The AGEM Index increased by 63.52 points in April 2020 to 376.04 points, a 20.3% gain from March 2020 and a 21.1% drop when compared to the same month of the prior year. Eleven of the 13 AGEM Index companies reported significant stock price increases as global markets began to rebound from the shocks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The stock price for Aristocrat Leisure Limited increased by 19.4 percent, accounting for a 40.13-point improvement in the AGEM Index, while International Game Technology PLC (IGT) experienced a 26.7 percent stock price jump that led to an index contribution of 5.82 points.
All three major U.S. stock indices increased as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 experienced monthly gains of 11.1 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively. The NASDAQ also experienced a gain of 15.5 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.