Trading indexes allows investors to gain exposure to a particular market or sector without having to purchase individual stocks. It also allows for diversification and risk management within a portfolio.

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In finance, a benchmark is a standard or point of reference that is used to compare and evaluate the performance of a particular investment or investment strategy. A benchmark can be an index, a specific asset, or a portfolio of assets. Investors use benchmarks to assess the performance of their investment portfolios, to identify trends in the market, and to make investment decisions based on their investment objectives and risk tolerance. Examples of commonly used benchmarks include the S&P 500 index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the NASDAQ Composite index.

If you are using those indexes to compare the performance of your investments or portfolio, then you can refer to them as benchmarks. Benchmarks are used to evaluate the performance of an investment by comparing it to a standard index or portfolio. By using a benchmark, you can see how your investment is performing relative to the market or other similar investments.
Benchmark indexes provide a way to measure the performance of a group of stocks, and are often used as a reference point for investors to evaluate the performance of their own portfolios. For example, if an investor's portfolio is made up of stocks that are included in a benchmark index, the investor can compare the return of their portfolio to the return of the benchmark to determine how well their portfolio has performed relative to the market.
For example, if an investor wants to track the performance of the S&P 500, they may buy a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that holds the stocks in the S&P 500 in the same proportions as the index. This allows the investor to participate in the overall performance of the benchmark without having to buy each individual stock. Similarly, if an investor wants to invest in a particular sector of the economy, they may look to an industry-specific benchmark and buy securities that track that index. 
So, while benchmarks themselves are not traded, the securities that make up the benchmark are traded by investors.

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