Standard & Poor’s index services has launched two new STARS (STock Appreciation Ranking System) indices that provide investors with exposure to the top stock picks of Standard & Poor’s equity research analysts in Europe and the US. The US STARS index and the Europe STARS index are designed to measure the performance of stocks within the S&P Composite 1500 (US STARS) and S&P Europe 350 (Europe STARS) currently ranked 5-STARS or 4-STARS out of 5 by Standard & Poor’s equity research services. The S&P Europe STARS Index contains 25 large-cap European stocks that the analysts think may outperform the S&P Europe 350 index over twelve months.