American Stock Exchange

History

The Exchange traces its roots back to colonial times, when stock brokers created outdoor markets in New York City to trade new government-issued securities. The AMEX started out in 1842 as such a market at the curbstone on Broad Street near Exchange Place. The curb brokers gathered around the lamp posts and mail boxes, resisting wind and weather, putting up lists of stocks for sale. As trading activity increased so did the volume of the transactions; the shouting reached such a high level that stock hand signals had to be introduced so that the brokers could continue trading over the din. In 1921 the market was moved indoors into the building at 86 Trinity Place, Manhattan, where it still resides. The hand signals remained in place for decades even after the move, as a means of covenient communication. The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1978.

Karachi Stock Exchange

Karachi Stock Exchange is the biggest and most liquid exchange in Pakistan and was been declared as the “Best Performing Stock Market of the World for the year 2002”. As on May 30, 2008, 654 companies were listed with a market capitalization of Rs. 3,746.203 billion (US$ 56.334 billion) having listed capital of Rs. 705.873 billion (US$ 10.615 billion). The KSE 100TM Index closed at 12130.51 on May 30, 2008.

KSE has been into the 4th year of being one of the best performing markets of the world as declared by the international magazine “Business Week”. Similarly the US newspaper, USA Today, termed Karachi Stock Exchange as one of the best performing bourses in the world.

Tokyo Stock Exchange

The Tokyo Stock Exchange was established on May 15, 1878, as the Tokyo Kabushiki Torihikijounder the direction of then-Finance Minister Okuma Shigenobu and capitalist advocate Shibusawa Eiichi. Trading began on June 1, 1878.

In 1943, the exchange was combined with ten other stock exchanges in major Japanese cities to form a single Japanese Stock ExchangeThe combined exchange was shut down and reorganized shortly after the bombing of Nagasaki.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange reopened under its current Japanese name on May 16, 1949, pursuant to the new Securities Exchange Act.

The TSE runup from 1983 to 1990 was unprecedented, in 1990 it accounted for over 60% of the world's stock market capitalization (by far the world's largest) before falling precipitously in value and rankings today, but still remains one of the 3 largest exchanges in the world by market capitalization of listed shares.

The trading floor of the TSE was closed on April 30, 1999, and the exchange switched to electronic trading for all transactions. A new facility, called TSE Arrows,opened on May 9, 2000.

In 2001, the TSE restructured itself as a stock company: before this time, it was structured as an incorporated association with its members as shareholders.

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) (formerly Adu Dhabi Securities Market) [ADSM] (Arabic: سوق أبوظبي للأوراق ألمالية) is a stock exchange in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was established on 15 November 2000 to trade shares of UAE companies. There are trading locations in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Fujeirah, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah. The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) is a different exchange that trades shares of other public UAE companies but investors can also trade ADSM shares with some of the brokers based at DFM.

The ADSM has more companies listed than DFM but trading volume is usually much less. During 2004-2005 there was a substantial increase in share prices and trading activity. From the end of 2005 through until mid-2006 there was a significant downturn with the overall ADSM index dropping just over 30% in the first six months of 2006.

Copenhagen Stock Exchange

The Copenhagen Stock Exchange or CSE (Danish: Københavns Fondsbørs) is an international marketplace for Danish securities, including shares, bonds, treasury bills and notes, and financial futures and options. CSE is one of the OMX Exchanges, which was founded in 2003.

Background and Structure The exchange was converted to a limited company in 1996 with share capital issued in a ratio of 60-20-20 to members, issuers of shares, and issuers of bonds. In 1997 the FUTOP Clearing Center A/S, the Danish derivatives market, became a wholly owned subsidiary. FUTOP issues, clears, and guarantees futures and options on shares, indices, and interest rate products. FUTOP products can be traded electronically. In 1998, the CSE and the Stockholmsbörsen formed the NOREX Alliance, a step toward developing a Nordic securities market. Normal trading sessions are from 09:00am to 05:00pm on all days of the week except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays declared by the Exchange in advance.

Euronext Paris

Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV, which is the second largest exchange in Europe behind the UK's London Stock Exchange.

Operations

It operates the MATIF futures exchange, which trades futures and options on interest rate products and commodities, and MONEP, equity and index futures and options. All products are traded electronically on the NSC system adopted by all of the Euronext members. Transactions are cleared through LCH.Clearnet. Cash settlement is T+3.[1] Trading hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Structure and indices

The French equities market is divided into three sections. The Premier Marché, formerly called the Official List, includes large French and foreign companies, and most Bond issues. The Second Marché, lists medium-sized companies, while Nouveau Marché lists fast-growing start up companies seeking capital to finance expansion, linked to Euro.nm, the European equity growth market. A fourth market, Marché Libre, is nonregulated, administered by Euronext Paris for transactions in securities not listed on the other three markets.

Euronext Paris calculates a family of indices. The CAC 40 is the exchange's benchmark, desseminated in real time. Its components are included in the broader SBF 120 Index, a benchmark for investment funds. The SBF 250 index, a benchmark for the long-term performance of equity portfolios, includes all of the SBF 120; it is structured by sector. The MIDCAC index includes 100 of the most liquid medium-size stocks on the Premier Marché and Nouveau Marché calculated on the basis of opening and closing prices, while the Second Marché index focuses on that market. Both indices are benchmarks for funds. The Nouveau Marché Index represents stocks in the growth market. The SBF-FCI index is based on a selection of convertible bonds that represent at least 70% of the total capitalization of this market, calculated twice daily. For derivatives, MONEP trades short-term and long-term stock options and futures and options on a family of Dow Jones indices. MATIF's products include commodity future and options on European rapeseed and futures on rapeseed meal, European rapeseed oil, milling wheat, corn and sunflower seeds; interest rate futures and options on the Euro notional bond, five-year Euro and three-month PIBOR (Paris Interbank Offered Rate), and futures on the 30-year Eurobond and two-year E-note, and index futures on the CAC 40.

Key figures

For the fiscal year ending December 2004, Euronext Paris recorded sales of USD$ 522 million, a -12.9 decrease in sales from 2003.

Euronext Paris has a US$28.5 trillion/€21.5 trillion total market capitalization of listed companies and average daily trading value of its combined markets of approximately $102 billion/€77 billion (as of 28th February 2007).

Euronext Lisbon

Euronext Lisbon is a stock exchange in Lisbon, Portugal. It belongs to the NYSE Euronext group, the first global stock exchange.

Euronext Lisbon trades equities, public and private bonds, participation bonds, warrants, corporate warrants, investment trust units, and exchange traded funds. The BVL General index is the exchanges official index, and includes all listed shares on the official market. Settlement is T+3. Derivatives include long-term interest rate futures, three month Lisbor futures, stock index futures and options on the PSI-20 Stock index, and Portuguese stock futures. Trading hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (CET), Monday through Friday.


History

The Euronext Lisbon was formed in 2002 when the shares of Bolsa de Valores de Lisboa e Porto (BVLP) were acquired by Euronext N.V. and the exchange was merged into the pan-European exchange. BVLP, the Portuguese exchange, was formed in the 1990s restructuring of the Lisbon Stock Exchange association and the Porto Derivatives Exchange Association.

At the end of 2001, 65 companies were listed on BVLP-regulated markets, representing a market capitalization of Euro 96.1 billion. From January to December 2001, a total of 4.7 million futures and options contracts were traded on the BVLP market.

In 2007, after the merger of Euronext and NYSE, Euronext Lisbon joined the new NYSE Euronext group, the largest corporation operating multiple securities exchanges in the world.