Trading takes place here: These are the top 5 stock exchanges in the world
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The need for organized trading venues and stock exchanges developed as early as the 13th century. They still offer central platforms for the exchange of goods, currencies and securities and show how closely economic development and organized trade are linked. We'll take you to the current top 5 trading venues around the world.
The development of modern trading venues
As early as the late Middle Ages, from around 1530, stock exchanges emerged out of the need to facilitate trade, coordinate investments and minimize risks. Initially, the financial world focused on Europe: Amsterdam and Antwerp were “the place to trade.” As early as 1531, one of the first organized stock exchanges was founded in Antwerp, on which, among other things, promissory notes and goods were traded. It served as a model for later stock exchanges. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, which was founded in 1602, is considered the world's first stock exchange. It was created to trade shares of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and enabled investors to buy and sell shares in the company. She became particularly known due to the tulip crisis: The sudden end of an insane tulip mania led to the first major stock market crash in 1637 in world history. It was not until 1585 that the Frankfurt Stock Exchange was founded to standardize exchange rates and increase transparency in trading. Even much later, the largest stock exchanges in the USA, Asia and Europe appeared.
The top 5 stock exchanges around the world
Today, there are over 60 major stock exchanges worldwide, each of which contributes to the economic success of its respective region and also influences international financial market events. For example, because the mood on the trading floor in New York on a trading day can give a positive or negative impetus to the start of trading in Europe the next morning.
The basis for the ranking of the top 5 stock exchanges is WFE Market Statistics (December 2024), which are based on the market capitalization of the respective trading venues:
1. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
The world-famous “Wall Street” claims first place for itself. Founded in 1792, the New York Stock Exchange was created from a trade agreement signed by 24 brokers (Buttonwood Agreement). Today, it is a symbol of the global financial market, but it only achieved this position in the course of the 20th century when the USA became the world's leading economic power.
As a result of rapid economic expansion, the growth of multinational corporations and the increasing internationalization of stock trading, the NYSE secured its leading position since around the 1970s. According to WFE data, it had a trading volume of around 26 trillion dollars at the end of 2024.
2. Nasdaq
The Nasdaq technology exchange was only founded in 1971 as the world's first fully electronic stock exchange. It is known for its tech and innovation companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Amazon and is considered an important center for modern growth industries. As a result of the technology boom in recent years, the Nasdaq has experienced a rapid upswing. The market capitalization is currently an impressive 23.5 trillion dollars. By way of comparison, in February 2018, this only amounted to around ten trillion dollars.
3. Euronext
Euronext N.V. is an international stock exchange or a stock exchange association with trading centers in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris. It was founded in 2000 through the merger of several stock exchanges, is headquartered in Amsterdam and is likely to continue to grow through acquisitions. With a combined market capitalization of almost 6.8 trillion dollars at the end of 2024 and almost 2,000 listed companies, Euronext is the leading stock exchange and trading venue and the largest liquidity pool in Europe.
4. Japan Exchange Group
Created in 2013 as a result of the merger of the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges, JPX is the leading trading venue in Asia and the youngest stock exchange on the ranking. The Japan Exchange Group is known for the strong presence of Japanese industrial and technology companies. It also enables global investments in Japan and supports the country's economic growth by providing a platform for Japanese companies such as Toyota, SoftBank and Sony to raise capital. The market capitalization of JPX was 6.34 trillion dollars last year.
5. Shanghai Stock Exchange
The so-called SSE was founded in 1990 and has historical roots that go back to 1891. It is China's largest stock exchange, reflects the country's rapid economic growth and serves as an important gateway for domestic and international investors to gain access to China. The SSE Composite Index is the most important index in China and contains all stocks of over 2,000 companies traded in Shanghai and a market capitalization of six trillion dollars.
World stock exchanges on the move
However, the ranking of the top 5 stock exchanges is not set in stone. In addition to their size and geographical advantages, factors such as digitalization, demographic change, innovative infrastructure solutions, attractive regulatory frameworks and economic policy influences are likely to play a role in the evaluation of financial centers in the future. For example, it may well be that The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) as an emerging player among global stock exchanges will continue to establish. This is because the Indian economy is experiencing robust growth, which has a positive effect on the share prices of listed companies.
