Where Are the Major World Stock Exchanges?
United States of America
Stock Exchanges
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
Operated by NYSE Euronext it is the largest stock exchange in the world by both capital and trade value.
It includes most of the Dow Jones Industrial average and the S&P 500 Stock Market Indexes volume.
One of the most well known features of the NYSE is the trading floor bell. It is rung to announce the opening and closing of business each day. There is one large bell in each of the four trading areas which are synchronised to operate simultaneously.
NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations)
Second largest Stock Exchange in the world by both capital and trade value. It is operated by the NASDAQ OMX Group. Its main index is the NASDAQ Composite.
It was the world’s first electronic stock market and the first to start trading on-line.
Stock Market Indices
AMEX (American Stock Exchange) Composite Index: Is a market value weighted index where the day to day price change for each stock is weighed by its market value. The price change for each stock affects the day’s change in the index in proportion to the company’s market value. The index is used to judge the overall movement of the NYSE AMEX equities market.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: Consists of the 30 largest publicly traded companies in the USA. It is the oldest continuing US market index and is called the “average” because it originally was computed by adding up stock prices and dividing that number by the number of stocks. The “Dow” is one of the most closely watched United States indices for tracking stock market activity.
Dow Jones Wilshire 5000: Measures and tracks the performance of all publicly traded companies based in the USA.
NASDAQ Composite: Broad market index of all common stocks and similar securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. It is intensely followed in the USA as an indicator of the performance of stocks growth and technology businesses.
NYSE Composite: Trades in all common stocks listed in the NYSE.
Russell Indexes: Global equity index for institutional investors. It allows investors to track the performance of specific market segments worldwide.
Russell 3000 Index: Tracks and measures the performance of the 3,000 largest USA companies.
S&P (Standard and Poor’s) 500 Index: The index is based on the market capitalisation of the 500 leading publicly traded companies in the USA. Many consider it the best indicator as to how well the US economy is performing.
Introduction
This is a concise guide to the Stock Markets and Stock Market Indices of what are considered to be the major financial and share trading countries in the world. Included are some facts and figures as well as explanations as to what the Indices, some very well known like the Dow Jones or FTSE 100, monitor, trade in, and report on.
United Kingdom
Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange: The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is the oldest Stock Exchange in the world being founded in 1801. It is seen as the most international of the world’s stock exchanges with over 3,000 companies from around 70 countries trading on its markets.
Stock Market Index
FTSE 100 Index (Financial Times Stock Exchange Index): Index of the 100 most capitalised companies listed on the LSE. The index is calculated in real time and published every fifteen seconds.
Germany
Stock Exchange
Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB): Deutsche Borse AG operates the FWB which organises the trading of shares and other securities. It accounts for around 90% of the turnover in German markets.
Stock Market Index
DAX (Deutscher Aktien Index): Measures the performance of the 30 largest companies in Germany trading on the FWB. It is sometimes felt that it is not a good representative of the countries economic state due to the small selection of companies listed.
Europe
Stock Market Indices
Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50: Market capitalisation-weighted stock of the leading 50 large European companies operating within the Eurozone.
FTSEurofirst 300 Index: Measures the performance of Europe’s largest 300 companies by market capitalisation.
S&P (Standard and Poor’s) Europe 350: Is a stock index of European stock.
China
Stock Exchange
Shanghai Stock Exchange: The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) is one of two operating independently in China (the other being the Shenzhen Stock Exchange). It trades in “A” and “B” shares with “A” shares mainly only being able to be purchased by domestic investors and “B” shares by all investors.
Stock Market Index
SSE Composite Index: Index of shares (A and B shares) listed on the SSE.
Hong Kong
Stock Exchange
Hong Kong Stock Exchange: The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK) is the second largest in Asia. It size is due in some part to the fact that a vast number of buyers and sellers in the country are members of the general public.
Stock Market Index
Hang Seng Index (HSI): Index monitoring the daily changes of the largest companies listed on the SEHK. It is the main indicator of market performance in Hong Kong.
Japan
Stock Exchange
Tokyo Stock Exchange: The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) is one of the largest trading stock markets in Asia with around a billion shares changing hands each day.
Stock Market Index
Nikkei 225: A price- weighted index of the leading 225 blue-chip companies on the TSE. Stocks are reviewed annually and the review results are published in September.
Canada
Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange: The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) is the largest in Canada and third largest in North America. There is a wide range of businesses from Europe, the United States, and other countries trading in the TSX. More mining, oil and gas companies are listed on the TSE than anywhere else in the world.
Stock Market Index
S&P/TSX Composite Index: Equivalent to the S&P 500 Index in the USA. It is an Index of the largest companies listed on the TSX as measured by market capitalisation.
Australia
Stock Exchange
Australian Securities Exchange: The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) was only created in 2006 following the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange.
Stock Market Index
S&P/ASX200 Index: Market capitalisation-weighted index of stocks listed on the ASX.
Brazil
Stock Exchange
BM&FBOVESPA: The BM&FBOVESPA (BVSP) is the largest Stock Exchange in Latin America.
Stock Market Index
Bovespa Index: Index of around 50 stocks traded on the BVSP and an indicator of the BVSP average performance reflecting the variation of its most traded stocks.
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@ 2013 Brian McKechnie (aka WorldEarth)
