Stock exchange

A stock exchange or bourse is an exchange where stock brokers and traders can buy and/or sell stocks (also called shares), bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges may 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 stock issued by listed companies, unit trusts, derivatives, pooled investment products and bonds. Stock exchanges often function as "continuous auction" markets, with buyers and sellers consummating transactions at a central location, such as the floor of the exchange.

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 use electronic networks, which gives them advantages of increased speed and reduced cost of transactions. Trade on an exchange is restricted to brokers who are members of the exchange. In recent years, various other trading venues, such as electronic communication networks, alternative trading systems and "dark pools" have taken much of the trading activity away from traditional stock exchanges.

Bombay Stock Exchange

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is an Indian stock exchange located at Dalal Street, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Established in 1875, the BSE is Asia’s first stock exchange and the world's fastest stock exchange with a median trade speed of 6 microseconds. The BSE is the world's 11th largest stock exchange with an overall market capitalization of $1.7 trillion as of January 23rd, 2015. More than 5500 companies are publicly listed on the BSE.

History

The BOMBAY STOCK EXCHANGE is the oldest exchange in Asia. Its history dates back to 1855, when five stockbroker would gather under banyan trees in front of Mumbai's Town Hall. The location of these meetings changed many times to accommodate an increasing number of brokers. The group eventually moved to Dalal Street in 1874 and in became an official organization known as "The Native Share & Stock Brokers Association" in 1875.

On August 31, 1957, the BSE became the first stock exchange to be recognized by the Indian Government under the Securities Contracts Regulation Act. In 1980, the exchange moved to the Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers at Dalal Street, Fort area. In 1986, it developed the BSE SENSEX index, giving the BSE a means to measure the overall performance of the exchange. In 2000, the BSE used this index to open its derivatives market, trading SENSEX futures contracts. The development of SENSEX options along with equity derivatives followed in 2001 and 2002, expanding the BSE's trading platform.

BSE

BSE may refer to:

Medicine

Stock exchanges

Other uses

See also

BSE SENSEX

The S&P BSE SENSEX (S&P Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index), also-called the BSE 30 or simply the SENSEX, is a free-float market-weighted stock market index of 30 well-established and financially sound companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange. The 30 component companies which are some of the largest and most actively traded stocks, are representative of various industrial sectors of the Indian economy. Published since 1 January 1986, the S&P BSE SENSEX is regarded as the pulse of the domestic stock markets in India. The base value of the S&P BSE SENSEX is taken as 100 on 1 April 1979, and its base year as 1978–79. On 25 July 2001 BSE launched DOLLEX-30, a dollar-linked version of S&P BSE SENSEX. As of 21 April 2011, the market capitalisation of S&P BSE SENSEX was about ₹29733 billion (US$438 billion) (47.68% of market capitalisation of BSE), while its free-float market capitalisation was ₹15690 billion (US$231 billion). During 2008-12, Sensex 30 Index share of BSE market capitalisation fell from 49% to 25% due to the rise of sectoral indices like BSE PSU, Bankex, BSE-Teck, etc.

Stock market

A stock market or equity market or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers (a loose network of economic transactions, not a physical facility or discrete entity) of stocks (also called shares); these may include securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.

Size of the market

Stocks can be categorized in various ways. One common way is by the country where the company is domiciled. For example, Nestlé and Novartis are domiciled in Switzerland, so they may be considered as part of the Swiss stock market, although their stock may also be traded at exchanges in other countries.

At the close of 2012, the size of the world stock market (total market capitalisation) was about US$55 trillion. By country, the largest market was the United States (about 34%), followed by Japan (about 6%) and the United Kingdom (about 6%). This went up more in 2013.

Stock exchange

A stock exchange is a place or organization by which stock traders (people and companies) can trade stocks. Companies may want to get their stock listed on a stock exchange. Other stocks may be traded "over the counter", that is, through a dealer. A large company will usually have its stock listed on many exchanges across the world.