Interactive Brokers enters the S&P 500, replacing Walgreens Boots Alliance, while Robinhood is out again

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced on Monday that it will add Interactive Brokers to the S&P 500 index at the opening of U.S. markets on Thursday. Interactive Brokers will replace Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), which is set to be privatized by Sycamore Partners. Following the announcement, Interactive Brokers' stock price surged nearly 8% in after-hours trading, before narrowing to about 4%. The stock has doubled in the past year and has risen 42% year-to-date. WBA saw a slight increase of 0.5% in after-hours trading. Meanwhile, shares of brokerage firm Robinhood fell slightly in after-hours trading. Some investors had hoped that Robinhood would be included in the S&P 500 index. Robinhood's stock has risen nearly 190% since the beginning of the year, with a market capitalization approaching $96 billion. Previously, on July 23, Jack Dorsey's fintech company Block was added to the S&P 500 index, highlighting the growing influence of digital payments and cryptocurrencies in mainstream finance, while the much-anticipated Robinhood was left out. Earlier, during the routine quarterly adjustment of the S&P 500 index in June, Robinhood was also not included when Ansys was removed from the index. S&P Dow Jones Indices also stated that on the same Thursday, Talen Energy will take the place of Interactive Brokers in the S&P MidCap 400 index. The stock price of this independent power producer rose over 3% in after-hours trading following the announcement. With the acceleration of electrification and the rise of AI data centers, Talen is seen as a beneficiary of increasing electricity demand, with its stock price up 76% year-to-date. Additionally, on September 2, Kinetik Holdings will replace Pacific Premier Bancorp in the S&P SmallCap 600 index. Pacific Premier Bancorp is set to be acquired by Columbia Banking System