Top 10 Major Stock Exchanges Around the World

A stock exchange is a marketplace where financial instruments like stocks / shares / bonds of the listed companies are bought and sold by traders and stockbrokers. Stock exchange one of the most important organizations in any country. They perform several functions that are crucial for the economy of the country. Today we’re are discussing some of the largest stock exchanges in the world (in terms of market-cap).

1. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is world’s largest stock exchange. It represents companies with market capitalization of more than USD 27 trillion. The NYSE was created by 24 stockbrokers by signing the Buttonwood Agreement on 17 May 1792. It is believed that Bank of New York, which is now part of Bank of New York Mellon, was the first non-governmental stock traded at the NYSE. Located on New York’s famous Wall Street, the NYSE brought an IPO in 2006 and itself became a publicly traded company. The NYSE is open for trading Monday through Friday from 9:30 am – 4:00 pm ET, with the exception of holidays declared by the Exchange in advance.

Indices of NYSE include Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and NYSE Composite.

2. Nasdaq

Nasdaq is the second largest stock exchange in the world. The the combined market capitalization of Nasdaq listed companies is more than USD 23 trillion. Earliar Nasdaq was an acronym for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. On February 8, 1971, the Nasdaq stock market began operations as the world’s first electronic stock market.

Indices of Nasdaq include Nasdaq-100, NASDAQ Financial-100 and Nasdaq Composite.

3. Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE)

The Shanghai Stock Exchange is world’s third largest and Asia’s largest stock exchange. Companies worth USD 7.6 trillion are listed on SSE. The current SSE was founded on 26 November 1990, however its predecessor came into being in 1891.

Indices of the Shanghai Stock Exchange include SSE Composite and SSE 50.

4. Euronext

On 22 September 2000, following the formation of the European Union, the stock exchanges of EU member countries were merged together to form Euronext. At the beginning Amsterdam Stock Exchange, Brussels Stock Exchange, and Paris Bourse were merged. The market capitalization of companies listed in Euronext is over USD 6.6 trillion.

Note: Amsterdam Stock Exchange (now Euronext Amsterdam) is the world’s oldest stock exchange. It was founded in 1602

5. Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE)

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) is world’s fourth largest stock exchange. Companies listed on HKSE have a market capitalization of more than USD 6 trillion. It was founded on 3 February 1891 as the Association of Stockbrokers in Hong Kong. In 2020, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed more than 2500 companies.

6. Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)

Founded on 15 May 1878, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is the world’s fifth largest stock exchange. It lists companies worth more than USD 5.6 trillion. It is also the second largest stock exchange in Asia. Its operating hours are from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m., and from 12:30 to 5:00 p.m. on all days of the week except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays declared by the Exchange in advance.

Indices of Tokyo Stock Exchange include Nikkei 225 and TOPIX

7. Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE)

Founded in 1987, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange is one of the China’s three independent stock exchanges (the other being Shanghai Stock Exchange and Beijing Stock Exchange). The total market capital of listed companies is USD 5.33 trillion.

Indices of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange include SZSE 100 (blue chip), SZSE 200, SZSE 300 and SZSE Composite.

8. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

The Bombay Stock Exchange was established by Premchand Roychand in 1875. The market cap of over 5,400 BSE listed companies is USD 3.96 trillion. It is located on the Dalal Street in the Indian city of Mumbai. It is one of the world’s fastest stock exchange with reported median response time as 6 micro seconds.

The most important index of BSE is called SENSEX (Sensitive Index). The SENSEX includes 30 companies.

9. London Stock Exchange (LSE)

The London Stock Exchange was founded on 30 December 1801. Over 2400 companies are listed on LSE. The combined market cap of all the listed companies USD 3.57 trillion. Indices of London Stock Exchange include FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 250 Index, FTSE 350 Index, FTSE SmallCap Index and FTSE All-Share Index.

10. National Stock Exchange (NSE), India

Founded in the year 1992, the National Stock Exchange lists over 2000 companies. These companies have a combined market cap of USD 3.45 trillion. Indices of National Stock Exchange (India) include NIFTY 50, NIFTY Next 50 and NIFTY 500.

Largest Stock Exchanges in the World

Following table lists top 10 largest stock exchanges in the world.

Largest Stock Exchanges in the World

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Rank	Stock exchange	MIC	Region	Market place	Market cap
1	New York Stock Exchange	XNYS	United States	New York City	26.64
2	Nasdaq	XNAS	United States	New York City	23.46
3	Shanghai Stock Exchange	XSHG	China	Shanghai	7.63
4	Euronext	XAMS XBRU XMSM XLIS XMIL XOSL XPAR	Europe	Amsterdam Brussels Dublin Lisbon Milan Oslo Paris	7.33
5	Japan Exchange Group	XJPX	Japan	Tokyo	6.79
6	Hong Kong Stock Exchange	XHKG	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	6.13
7	Shenzhen Stock Exchange	XSHE	China	Shenzhen	5.74
8	Bombay Stock Exchange	XBOM	India	Mumbai	3.96
9	National Stock Exchange	XNSE	India	Mumbai	3.77
10	London Stock Exchange	XLON	United Kingdom	London	3.61