Learning more about the 20 largest stock exchanges in the world can be quite revealing regarding global economic power and wealth distribution. While some stock exchanges have been traditionally strong, the dynamic nature of the industry has allowed others to grow rapidly. Emerging market economies have contributed a great deal to the surge of such stock exchanges, a trend that is to persist over the next decade.
Globalization has had its effect on our list of the largest stock exchanges in the world, which includes markets spread across all continents. Naturally, countries with powerful economies and a highly developed private sector are bound to have a bigger financial market, thus making it possible to guess the top ranking institutions. If you have read one of our previous posts on the 20 biggest IPOs in US history, then you will certainly be aware that this nation most likely houses the candidate for the top spot. Nevertheless, some of the largest stock exchanges in the world are booming markets, offering huge financial opportunities, while still plagued by widespread poverty.
In order to rank the global financial markets, we have taken the market capitalization values from the monthly reports of the World Federation of Exchanges as the main indicator for size. Thus, the title will belong to the market with the highest value of shares outstanding. Without going into further detail, here is our list of the 20 largest stock exchanges in the world.
20. Taiwan Stock Exchange – $848 billion
Located in the city of Taipei, the Taiwan Stock Exchange is the first market on our list, after growing at a steady pace over the years.
19. JSE Limited – $951 billion
The only African stock exchange to make it into the top 20 is JSE Limited, which has its headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa.
18. BM&FBovespa – $992 billion
Representing South America is BM&FBovespa, the Brazilian stock exchange located in São Paulo.
17. BME Spanish Exchanges – $1.14 trillion
The Madrid-based BME has a market capitalization exceeding the $1 trillion mark, and is the first European exchange to enter the list.
16. NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange – $ 1.24 trillion
This multinational American firm operates several stock exchanges in the Baltic and Nordic regions of Europe.
Our list of the largest stock exchanges in the world continues to jump all over the globe, on the next page. Where will it stop?
