Tutorial: S&P 500 Companies

Finance

Data source: Curated dataset (S&P Dow Jones Indices)

Overview

S&P 500 Companies wraps Curated dataset (S&P Dow Jones Indices), handling authentication, pagination, and rate limits for you. This tutorial covers all 4 tools with working code examples you can copy and run.

Prerequisites

Sign up at https://context.gnist.ai/signup for a free API key (100 calls/day).
Choose your integration method: MCP protocol or REST API.

Connect via MCP

Add to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.):

MCP Config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gnist-sp500": {
      "url": "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/sp500/",
      "headers": {
        "Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools (4)

`get_sp500_company`

Get detailed information about an S&P 500 company by ticker symbol. Returns company name, GICS sector, sub-industry, headquarters, founding year, and SEC CIK number.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`ticker`	string	required	Stock ticker symbol (e.g. AAPL, MSFT, GOOGL).

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/sp500/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "get_sp500_company", "arguments": {"ticker": "AAPL"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/sp500/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'ticker': 'AAPL'}, 'name': 'get_sp500_company'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`search_sp500_companies`

Search the S&P 500 companies database.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`query`	string	required	Search by company name or ticker symbol.
`limit`	integer	optional	Maximum results to return. (default: `20`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/sp500/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "search_sp500_companies", "arguments": {"query": "renewable energy"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/sp500/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'query': 'renewable energy'},
            'name': 'search_sp500_companies'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`list_sp500_by_sector`

List S&P 500 companies by GICS sector.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`sector`	string	required	GICS sector (e.g. Information Technology, Health Care, Financials).
`limit`	integer	optional	Maximum results to return. (default: `50`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/sp500/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "list_sp500_by_sector", "arguments": {"sector": "Information"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/sp500/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'sector': 'Information'},
            'name': 'list_sp500_by_sector'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`report_feedback`

Report a bug, feature request, or general feedback for this data source. Use this when something doesn't work as expected, when you'd like a new feature, or when you have suggestions for improvement. Args: feedback: Describe the issue or suggestion. feedback_type: One of 'bug', 'feature_request', or 'general'.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`feedback`	string	required
`feedback_type`	string	optional	(default: `general`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/sp500/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "report_feedback", "arguments": {"feedback": "example"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/sp500/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'feedback': 'example'}, 'name': 'report_feedback'}},
)
print(resp.json())

Common Patterns

Search then retrieve
Use search_sp500_companies to find items, then get_sp500_company to get full details. This two-step pattern is common for exploring data before drilling down.

Pagination
Several tools support limit, offset, or page parameters. Start with small limits during development, then increase for production queries.

FAQ

What data does S&P 500 Companies provide?

S&P 500 companies — ticker, sector, sub-industry, headquarters, and CIK numbers. It exposes 4 tools: get_sp500_company, search_sp500_companies, list_sp500_by_sector, report_feedback.

What do I need to get started?

A Gnist API key (free tier: 100 calls/day). Sign up at https://context.gnist.ai/signup.

What format does the S&P 500 Companies API return?

JSON, via either MCP protocol (JSON-RPC 2.0) or REST API.