The Largest Stock Exchange

The World Federation of Exchanges ranks the stock exchanges of the world. They represent 51 exchanges around the world. They sort by size, so it is possble to identify the largest stock exchanges in terms of a number of factors.

Here is a list of five the largest stock exchanges in the world :

New York Stock Exchange 

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the leading stock exchange in the world. The exchange trades stocks for some 2,800 companies, ranging from blue chips to new high growth companies. Each listed company has to meet strict requirements, as the NYSE works to maintain its reputation of trading strong, high quality securities.

Tokyo Stock Exchange 

The Tokyo Stock exchange is one of the more important world exchanges, trading an average of 1,540 million shares per day. It is one of five exchanges in Japan, but with 2,276 companies listed, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is by far the largest. The Tokyo Stock Exchange uses an electronic, continuous auction system of trading. This means that brokers place orders online and when a buy and sell price match, the trade is automatically executed. Deals are made directly between buyer and seller, rather than through a market maker.

NASDAQ

The NASDAQ, an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, is an electronic stock exchange with 3,300 company listings. It currently has a greater trading volume than any other U.S. exchange, making approximately 1.8 billion trades per day. For a stock to be listed on the NASDAQ National Market, the company must meet certain strict financial criteria.

London Stock Exchange 

The London Stock Exchange is the most important exchange in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It lists over 3,000 companies and with 350 of the companies coming from 50 different countries, the LSE is the most international of all exchanges. The London Stock Exchange is comprised of two different stock markets: the Main Market and the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

Hong Kong Stock Exchange 

Hong Kong Stock Exchange has the leading index the Hang Seng for shares traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that was introduced in 1969. HKEx securities market operates on two trading platforms - the Main Board and the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM). Each trading platform has a different set of requirements. The Main Board is the market for capital growth by established companies that meet profit requirements. Meanwhile, the Growth Enterprise Market provides a fund raising venue for 'high growth, high risk' companies. It promotes the development of technology industries and venture capital investments.