In this piece, we will take a look at the 21 largest stock exchanges in the world. For more stock exchanges, head on over to 5 Largest Stock Exchanges in the World.
Every day, the stock market attracts countless investors who are either looking to make a buck, earn dividends, or buy the shares of their preferred companies to have a stake in them. The market is also known for offering great returns to lucky and astute investors, but by its very nature, is also risky since its fortunes rise and fall with that of the economy and the companies themselves. The availability of exchanges to everyone and not just institutional investors also leads to hundreds of billions of dollars of capital trading hands daily. For instance, on one of America’s largest exchanges, the NASDAQ, a whopping $228 billion of trades were carried out on February 23, 2023, in the form of 4.6 billion shares and through 31 million trades excluding block trades. For America’s largest exchange, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), 3.8 billion Consolidated Tape A shares (those of NYSE listed stocks) changed hands on the same day.
Naturally, this volume also makes stock exchanges the barometers of the economy, and as business becomes tougher, share prices fall since investors remove their capital from markets. The biggest examples are the stock market crashes of 2008 and 2021 when the NASDAQ Composite lost up to 42% of its value as the economic outlook soured.
When Wall Street finance first gained popularity and more firms raced into the market in the mid 1900s, traders would note each day’s opening and closing prices and then would plot a graph manually. This would be carried out for a long time period, and the result would show the trend in a stock’s price. These days though most of this process is done with computers, saving time and generating quicker insights.
However, the exchange market still has problems. For starters, non trading operations such as money transfers and account deposits still require manual operations. Envisioning one such digital future is Deloitte, which believes that the ‘exchange of the future‘ will diversify from conducting stock market operations to investing in alternative revenue streams such as by providing data, creating ‘sub markets’ such as those for venture capitalists to buy and sell small companies, automate most of their workflows, enable greater automation for fraud detection, and broaden their horizon to new products such as initial coin offerings (ICOs).
One particularly growing area within exchanges that is gaining traction among retail traders too is options trading. While the history of options can be traced back to the 1800s, it was more than a century later when in 1968 the world’s first options exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) opened. Simply put, an ‘option’ is the right to buy or sell a stock or commodity or currency at a pre agreed price on a future date. This enables the investor to profit from price movements. The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting retail interest in the stock market saw the options trade grow signficantly, with one report suggesting that whopping 39 million contracts traded daily in 2021 – to mark a 35% annual growth with retail traders accounting for a quarter of this activity. This bonanza would continue in 2022 when a massive $10 billion of contracts were traded in the U.S. for the first time in history, yet, the inability to close the options at the right time also led the retail traders to lose money.
Yet even though the stock market itself faced trouble last year due to inflation and high interest rate, the companies running the exchanges were left better off. According to the CFO of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), the firm which owns the New York Stock Exchange, his firm saw higher orders during 2022. He outlined during the firm’s fourth quarter earnings call that:
2022 was a year marked by rising inflation, rising interest rates and continued geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. Amidst this dynamic macroeconomic environment, we once again grew revenues, operating income and earnings per share, record results that are a testament to the resiliency and durability of our strategically diversified business model. In our financial futures markets, rising inflation and central bank activity across the globe presented an interest rate environment that has not been seen in generation, helping us drive 20% volume growth in our interest rate complex and 15% growth in our equity derivatives business.
Across our global energy markets, the events unfolding across North America, Europe, Russia and Asia have triggered a reshaping of the global energy supply chain, creating new risks and uncertainties for market participants to navigate. In our global natural gas markets, an evolving energy supply chain in Europe has led to increased demand for global liquefied natural gas, or LNG, and has helped us drive a 17% increase in global gas volumes in 2022. This includes 24% growth in our North American gas business, which has benefited not only from increased commercial engagement with our Henry Hub contract but also our North American basis markets. These trends have continued into January with global natural gas open interest up 14% year-over-year, including 21% growth in North America.
Today, we’ll look at the biggest stock exchanges in the world, with the top picks being the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market – Nasdaq, New York Stock Exchange, and Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Photo by David Vincent on Unsplash
Our Methodology
We used data from the World Federation of Exchanges to sift out the biggest exchanges in the world. These are ranked according to market capitalization as of January 2023. Since several exchanges are also publicly listed stocks themselves, the market capitalization used is for all the companies listed on the exchanges instead of the value of the exchange’s own publicly traded stock. Additionally, while the Bombay Stock Exchange is one of the largest exchanges in India, no reliable data for its market value is available so it has been omitted.
21 Largest Stock Exchanges in the World
21. Bolsas y Mercados Españoles
Market Capitalization in billions: $732
Market Identifier Code (MIC): BMEX
Bolsas y Mercados Españoles is a Spanish exchange company that operates the BME exchanges. These exchanges are located in Barcelona, Bilbo, Madrid, and Valencia and all of thee have the same MIC of BMEX. The market capitalization of these exchanges was $732 billion as of January 2023.
Along with New York Stock Exchange, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market – Nasdaq, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Bolsas y Mercados Españoles is one of the biggest stock exchanges in the world.
20. B3 S.A. – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (BVMF:B3SA3.SA)
Market Capitalization in billions: $791
Market Identifier Code (MIC): BVMF
B3 S.A. – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (BVMF:B3SA3.SA) is a Brazilian firm headquartered in Sao Paulo which was formed after the merger of two exchanges in 2008. One of its constituents, the Sao Paulo Exchange was set up in 1890, and the BVMF had a market capitalization of $791 billion in January 2023.
19. JSE Limited (JSE:JSE.JO)
Market Capitalization in billions: $1,234
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XJSE
JSE Limited (JSE:JSE.JO) is a South African exchange based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is not only the largest stock exchange in the country but also the largest exchange in Africa. The exchange is also required by law to apply for a license each year, and it has a market capitalization of $1.23 trillion.
18. Tehran Stock Exchange
Market Capitalization in billions: $1,289
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XTEH
The Tehran Stock Exchange is Iran’s largest stock exchange and is based in Tehran, Iran. It has three markets, with the minimum market capitalization for listing sitting at 300 billion Irani Riyals and a 15% equity to asset ratio. Trading is done on the TSE primarily through registered brokers.
17. Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation
Market Capitalization in billions: $1,593
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XTAI
The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation is the stock exchange of Taiwan and is based in Taipei. Commonly known as the TWSE, it had 895 domestic and 91 foreign listed companies as of December 2022. The TWSE’s stock index is called the TAIEX – the Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Exchange – and the largest company on it by far is the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
16. ASX Limited (ASX:ASX.AX)
Market Capitalization in billions: $1,552
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XASX
ASX Limited (ASX:ASX.AX) is an Australian company that manages the country’s primary stock exchange, the Australia stock exchange or ASX. It is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and has several markets such as bonds, equity, and derivatives.
15. Korea Exchange
Market Capitalization in billions: $1,828
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XKOS
Korea Exchange, or the KRX, is the only stock exchange in South Korea. It was set up in 1956 after an integration of three different exchanges and has a market capitalization of $1.8 trillion. The biggest company on the KRX is, unsurprisingly, Samsung Electronics.
14. Nasdaq Nordic
Market Capitalization in billions: $1,935
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XCSE, XHEL, XSTO, XTAL, XICE, XRIS, XLIT
Nasdaq Nordic is a subsidiary of Nasdaq and it is a pan European Exchange comprised of seven different exchanges in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Finland, Iceland, Talin, Riga, and Vilnius. This gives the exchange a market capitalization of $1.9 trillion.
13. SIX Swiss Exchange
Market Capitalization in billions: $1,947
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XSWX
The SIX Swiss Exchange is an unlisted company that is owned by other financial institutions. It is one of the two main exchanges in Switzerland and is headquartered in Zurich.
12. Deutsche Börse AG (ETR:DB1.DE)
Market Capitalization in billions: $2,102
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XFRA
Deutsche Börse AG (ETR:DB1.DE) is a German firm that runs the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and a clearinghouse. It is headquartered in Eschborn, Germany, and has seven different segments that range from stock to currency trading platforms. Its market capitalization (of the exchange) sits at $2.1 trillion.
11. Saudi Stock Exchange
Market Capitalization: $2,713
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XSAU
The Saudi Stock Exchange, commonly known as Tadawul, is the sole stock exchange in Saudi Arabia. It traces its origins to the 1950s, but was regularized in 20205. The Tadawul’s market capitalization is $2.7 trillion, but the bulk of this comes courtesy of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (TADAWUL:2222.SR), which is worth approximately $1.87 trillion. Aramco is the world’s biggest oil company and is owned by the Saudi government.
10. Toronto Stock Exchange
Market Capitalization in billions: $3,024
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XTSE
The Toronto Stock Exchange, or the TSX, is a stock exchange in Canada that is a subsidiary of the TMX Group Limited (TSX:X.TO). It is the largest stock exchange in Canada and is based in Toronto. The TSX has a market capitalization of $3 trillion as of January 2023.
9. London Stock Exchange
Market Capitalization in billions: $3,259
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XLON
The London Stock Exchange is a British stock exchange located in Paternoster Square, London. It is also one of the oldest stock exchanges in the world since it was set up in 1801. As of December 2022, there were 1,934 companies listed on the LSE, with most of them being domestic firms. The bourse had a market capitalization of $3.2 trillion as of January 2023. Additionally, the LSE is one of the most unique exchanges in the world, where shares are traded in the Great British Pence instead of the Pound.
8. National Stock Exchange of India Limited
Market Capitalization in billions: $3,279
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XNSE
The National Stock Exchange of India Limited, commonly known as the NSE, is one of India’s primary stock exchanges. It is also one of the relatively younger exchanges out there, set up in the 1990s. Additionally, the NSE was one of the first exchanges in India to introduce screen based trading. Its flagship index, the NIFTY 50 faced some trouble earlier this year as a market crash of the Adani Group’s (Adani Enterprises Limited (NSE:ADANIENT.NS)) share price made the NIFTY 50 fall by 1.25%. The NSE is headquartered in Mumbai, India, and has a market capitalization of $3.2 trillion.
7. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (SEHK:0388.HK)
Market Capitalization in billions: $4,972
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XHKG
Stock Exchange of Hong Kong is Hong Kong’s stock exchange that is owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (SEHK:0388.HK). The exchange has rather unconventional definitions of a penny stock, as shares that trade below 50 Hong Kong cents ($0.064) are typically considered penny stocks. The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong has a $4.9 trillion market capitalization.
6. Shenzhen Stock Exchange
Market Capitalization in billions: $5,214
Market Identifier Code (MIC): XSHE
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange is one of three major Chinese stock exchanges. Commonly known as the SZSE, it is headquartered in Shenzhen, China and is the second largest of the trio. As opposed to most other exchanges, which use alphabets for stock tickers, the Shenzhen Exchange, like other Chinese and Asian exchanges, uses a numeric stock ticker. There were 2,743 firms listed on the exchange by the close of last year, and all of these were domestic firms. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange had a $5.2 trillion market capitalization as of January 2023.
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market – Nasdaq, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, and Shanghai Stock Exchange are some of the biggest stock exchanges in the world.
Click to continue reading and see 5 Largest Stock Exchanges in the World.
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Disclosure: None. 21 Largest Stock Exchanges in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.