A Note on 3 Popular Stock Exchanges

While a stock exchange is merely a marketplace where people can buy and sell stocks, it should interesting to note that each of the six largest stock exchanges in the world are unique, thanks to their history and the niche that they focus on.

#1: Bombay Stock Exchange

With its establishment in 1875, this stock exchange is considered to be the oldest in Asia. With almost 5000 listed companies, it boasts of having the most listings compared to any other stock exchange in the world. Its performance is tracked using the Sensex, which employs free-float market-capitalization methodology.

#2: London

Established in 1773, this stock exchange is the largest in Europe. In allowing its investors to purchase stock from more than 50 countries, it is also regarded as the most international of the stock exchanges in the world. The Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) is what is used to check its performance, and is calculated in a similar manner as in other stock exchanges.

#3: New York

Known as the Big Board, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the largest stock exchange in the world when market capitalization is taken into consideration, amounting to more than 12 trillion dollars. While the other stock exchanges have shifted to using technology completely when transacting, the NYSE is a mix of both the old-school open outcry auctions with traders shouting along with electronic transactions. Similar to the other performance tracking indices, the NYSE Composite Index has almost 1600 companies and about 350 foreign companies listed.