
The Paris Bourse, now part of Euronext, is an order-driven, electronic stock exchange. One or more NASDAQ market makers will always provide a bid and ask the price at which they will always purchase or sell 'their' stock. The process is similar to the New York Stock Exchange. The NASDAQ is an electronic exchange, where all of the trading is done over a computer network. Computers play an important role, especially for program trading. Once a trade has been made, the details are reported on the "tape" and sent back to the brokerage firm, which then notifies the investor who placed the order. If a bid–ask spread exists, no trade immediately takes place – in this case, the DMM may use their own resources (money or stock) to close the difference. The DMM's job is to maintain a two-sided market, making orders to buy and sell the security when there are no other buyers or sellers. Orders executed on the trading floor enter by way of exchange members and flow down to a floor broker, who submits the order electronically to the floor trading post for the Designated market maker ("DMM") for that stock to trade the order. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is a physical exchange, with a hybrid market for placing orders electronically from any location as well as on the trading floor. The exchanges provide real-time trading information on the listed securities, facilitating price discovery. The purpose of a stock exchange is to facilitate the exchange of securities between buyers and sellers, thus providing a marketplace. When the bid and ask prices match, a sale takes place, on a first-come, first-served basis if there are multiple bidders at a given price. Buying or selling at the Market means you will accept any ask price or bid price for the stock. An example of such an exchange is the NASDAQ.Ī potential buyer bids a specific price for a stock, and a potential seller asks a specific price for the same stock. The other type of stock exchange has a network of computers where trades are made electronically. This method is used in some stock exchanges and commodities exchanges, and involves traders shouting bid and offer prices. Some exchanges are physical locations where transactions are carried out on a trading floor, by a method known as open outcry. Their buy or sell orders may be executed on their behalf by a stock exchange trader. Participants in the stock market range from small individual stock investors to larger investors, who can be based anywhere in the world, and may include banks, insurance companies, pension funds and hedge funds. Equities (stocks or shares) confer an ownership interest in a particular company.


This requires these two parties to agree on a price.

Trade in stock markets means the transfer (in exchange for money) of a stock or security from a seller to a buyer. Stock exchanges may also cover other types of securities, such as fixed-interest securities (bonds) or (less frequently) derivatives, which are more likely to be traded OTC. Some large companies will have their stock listed on more than one exchange in different countries, so as to attract international investors. These and other stocks may also be traded " over the counter" (OTC), that is, through a dealer. The exchange may also act as a guarantor of settlement. This makes the stock more liquid and thus more attractive to many investors. Many large companies have their stocks listed on a stock exchange. Main article: Stock exchange Interior hall of the Helsinki Stock Exchange in Helsinki, Finland, 1965Ī stock exchange is an exchange (or bourse) where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell shares (equity stock), bonds, and other securities. īy country, the largest stock markets as of January 2022 are in the United States of America (about 59.9%), followed by Japan (about 6.2%) and United Kingdom (about 3.9%). Apart from the Australian Securities Exchange, these 16 exchanges are all in North America, Europe, or Asia. Of these, there are 16 exchanges with a market capitalization of $1 trillion or more, and they account for 87% of global market capitalization. Īs of 2016, there are 60 stock exchanges in the world.

The total market capitalization of all publicly traded securities worldwide rose from US$2.5 trillion in 1980 to US$93.7 trillion at the end of 2020. Investment is usually made with an investment strategy in mind. New York Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange National Stock Exchange of India Offices of Bursa Malaysia, Malaysia's national stock exchange (known before demutualization as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange)Ī stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses these may include securities listed on a public stock exchange, as well as stock that is only traded privately, such as shares of private companies which are sold to investors through equity crowdfunding platforms.
