Home
Australian Stock Ex.
Frankfurt Stock Exch.
Hong Kong Stock Ex.
London Stock Exch.
NASDAQ
New York Stock Ex.
Tokyo Stock Exch.
Toronto Stock Exch.
Asset Allocation
Beginners Guide
Best Market Blogs
Books About Buffett
Bull & Bear Markets
Dividends
Elliott Wave Theory
Ethical Investment
Favourite Sites
Financial Writers
Free E-Books
Investment Trusts
Latest Market News
Learn To Trade
Market Club
Risk Analysis
Site Blog
Stockbrokers
Stock Exchange Info
Stock Exch. Secrets?
Stock Trading
Top 10 Exchanges
Value Investing
Virtual Stock Exch.
Your Stock Tips
Your Website?
Warning

XML RSS
What is this?
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Add to Google

What Is A Stock Exchange And What Does It Do?

A Stock Exchange is an organized market for buying and selling financial instruments known as securities, which usually includes stocks, bonds, options, and futures. For the average man on the street, just stocks and bonds will be of interest.

Most of the options and futures trades carried out will be on behalf of big businesses or fund management groups, both trying to lower or offset risks.

Most stock exchanges have a specific location where their trades are completed. For the stock of a company to be traded at these exchanges, it must be listed, and to be listed, the company must satisfy certain requirements. These are generally termed as 'Listing Rules'.

However, not all stocks are bought and sold at a specific site. Such stocks are referred to as unlisted. Many of these stocks are traded 'OTC' or 'over-the-counter'. This, in effect means that the trade is carried out by computer or telephone.

Most of the world’s industrialized nations have one or more stock exchanges. Among the larger international exchanges are those in London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Toronto and Tokyo. These stock exchanges all have a central location for trading.

The major OTC market in the USA is the Nasdaq Stock Market (previously the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation [NASDAQ] system). The European Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system (EASDAQ) is the major OTC market for the European Union (EU).

Would you like to learn more about trading? You would? Great! Then please click here for an excellent free online stock trading video

Would your profits improve with help from a great market advice service? If they would, please click here

For more background information about stock exchanges, please visit the following pages:

Stock Exchanges And National Economies

The Secondary Market

Stockholders And The Stock Exchange

Investment Insitutions On The Stock Exchange

Executing A Trade On The Stock Exchange

Stock Exchange Scandals

Stock Exchange Regulations - The Sarbanes Oxley Act

Investment In The Stock Exchange

AddThis Social Bookmark Button