Stock exchange of the world

A stock exchange provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and dividends. Securities traded on a stock exchange include shares issued by companies, unit trusts, derivatives, pooled investment products and bonds. To be able to trade a security on a certain stock exchange, it must be listed there. Usually, there is a central location at least for record keeping, but trade is increasingly less linked to such a physical place, as modern markets are electronic networks, which gives them advantages of increased speed and reduced cost of transactions. Trade on an exchange is by members only. The initial offering of stocks and bonds to investors is by definition done in the primary market and subsequent trading is done in the secondary market. A stock exchange is often the most important component of a stock market. Supply and demand in stock markets are driven by various factors that, as in all free markets, affect the price of stocks (see stock valuation). There is usually no compulsion to issue stock via the stock exchange itself, nor must stock be subsequently traded on the exchange. Such trading is said to be off exchange or over-the-counter. This is the usual way that derivatives and bonds are traded. Increasingly, stock exchanges are part of a global market for securities.

What is a stock market

A stock market which is also known as equity market is a public body in which a free network of economic transactions occurs. It is not a physical facility or secret body. It is the place for the trading of stock or shares of company and its derivatives at an agreeable price. These shares and derivatives are securities that are listed on a stock exchange. It was estimated that the worlds stock market size was at around $36.6 trillion at the beginning of October 2008. The entire market of world derivative has been estimated at around $791 trillion face or nominal value which is eleven-fold of the total world economy. Since the value of derivative market is presented in terms of notional values, it cannot be straightly compared to a fixed income security or a stock, which conventionally refers t an actual value. Furthermore, the large majority of derivatives cancels each other out which means that a derivative bet on an event that occurs is counteracted by a comparable derivative bet on an event that does not occur. Many of the securities that are relatively not liquid like that are valued as marked to model, instead of valued as an actual market price.

The stocks are traded and listed on stock exchanges which are body of a company or mutual organization that is specialized in getting buyers and sellers of the organizations to a list of securities and stocks together. Categorized by market capitalization, the biggest stock market in the US is the New York Stock Exchange; while in Canada, it is the Toronto Stock Exchange. Examples of leading European stock exchanges comprise London Stock Exchange, Amsterdam Stock Exchange, Paris Bourse, and Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Deutsche Brse). In Africa, there are JSE Limited and Nigerian Stock Exchange. In Asia, there are the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the Bombay Stock Exchange. In Latin America, the examples include the BMV and the BM&F Bovespa. The participants in London Stock Exchange vary from individual investors to big traders or also known as hedge fund traders, and they can be based anywhere. In the end, their orders are generally handled by professionals at a stock exchange, who will perform the order of buying or selling. Some of the exchanges have physical locations in which transactions are performed on a trading floor, by a method that is popular as open outcry. This auction type is used in commodity exchanges and stock exchanges in which traders can enter oral bids and offers at the same time. The other stock exchange type is the virtual type which is composed of a computer network where trades are executed electronically. A stock exchange is established to facilitate the securities exchange between buyers and sellers and these activities provide a marketplace whether it is virtual or physical. The actual trades are on the basis of an auction market model in which a buyer bids a certain price for a stock and a seller asks a certain price for the stock. If the bid and ask prices meet, then a trade takes place. If there are more than one bidder and asker, they are served on a basis of first come first served at a certain price.

What is an Exchange? An exchange is an institution, organization, or association which hosts a market where stocks, bonds, options and futures, and commodities are traded. Buyers and sellers come together to trade during specific hours on business days. Exchanges impose rules and regulations on the firms and brokers that are involved with them. If a particular company is traded on an exchange, it is referred to as "listed". Companies that are not listed on a stock exchange are sold OTC (short for Over-The-Counter). Companies that have shares traded OTC are usually smaller and riskier because they do not meet the requirements to be listed on a stock exchange.

American Stock Exchange NYSE Amex Equities, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) is an American stock exchange situated in New York. AMEX was a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known as the New York Curb Exchange. On January 17, 2008, NYSE Euronext announced it would acquire the American Stock Exchange for $260 million in stock. On October 1, 2008, NYSE Euronext completed acquisition of the American Stock Exchange. Before the closing of the

acquisition, NYSE Euronext announced that the Exchange would be integrated with the Alternext European small-cap exchange and renamed the NYSE Alternext U.S. In March 2009, NYSE Alternext U.S. was changed to NYSE Amex Equities. The third-largest stock exchange by trading volume in the United States. In 2008 it was acquired by the NYSE Euronext and became the NYSE Amex Equities in 2009. The AMEX is located in New York City and handles about 10% of all securities traded in the U.S.

History

Curb brokers, 1920

These brokers often traded stocks that were speculative in nature. With the discovery of oil in the later half of the 19th century, even oil stocks

entered into the curb market. By 1865, following the Civil War, stocks in small industrial companies, such as iron and steel, textiles and chemicals were first sold by curbstone brokers. Efforts to organize and standardize the market started early in the twentieth century under Emanuel S. Mendels. In 1908, the New York Curb Market Agency was established, to codify trading practices. In 1911, the curbstone brokers came to be known as the New York Curb Market, which then had a formal constitution with brokerage and listing standards. After several years of outdoor trading, the curbstone brokers moved indoors in 1921 to a building on Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan. In 1929, the New York Curb Market changed its name to the New York Curb Exchange. Within no time, the Curb Exchange became the leading international stock market, listing more foreign issues than all other U.S. securities markets combined. In 1953 the Curb Exchange was renamed the American Stock Exchange. Paul Kolton was named as president of the exchange in 1971, making him the first person to be selected from within the exchange to serve as its leader, succeeding Ralph S. Saul, who announced his resignation in March 1971. In November 1972 Kolton was named as the exchange's first CEO and the first salaried top executive of the exchange. Kolton opposed the idea of a merger with the New York Stock Exchange while he headed the exchange saying that "two independent, viable exchanges are much more likely to be responsive to new pressures and public needs than a single institution" Kolton announced in July 1977 that he would be leaving his position at the American Exchange in November of that year. The American Stock Exchange merged with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE Euronext) on October 1, 2008. Post merger, the Amex equities business was branded "NYSE Alternext US". As part of the rebranding exercise, NYSE Alternext US was re-branded as NYSE Amex Equities. On December 1, 2008, the Curb Exchange building at 86 Trinity Place was closed, and the Amex Equities trading floor was moved to the NYSE Trading floor at 11 Wall Street.

New York Stock Exchange

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at US$13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010.[4] Average daily trading value was approximately US$153 billion in 2008. The NYSE is operated by NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX), which was formed by the NYSE's 2007 merger with the fully electronic stock exchange Euronext. The NYSE trading floor is located at 11 Wall Street and is composed of four rooms used for the facilitation of trading. A fifth trading room, located at 30 Broad Street, was closed in February 2007. The main building, located at 18 Broad Street, between the corners of Wall Street and Exchange Place, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978, as was the 11 Wall Street building.

Conclusion
An equity market which is also known as stock exchange market is not a secret body ,It is the place for the trading of stock or shares of company and its derivatives at an agreeable price. American stock exchange market which is located in New york is the third largest stock exchange market.

References:
www.investopedia.com/terms/a/amex.asp#ixzz1kAbBywh2 www.wikipedia.com

Assignment of financial economics

Name: Obaidullah Wardak Roll No: 34 Class: TY B.A College: Dhempe college of Arts& science