Investing 101: What is a stock exchange?

June 11, 1:20 PMBusiness and Finance 101 ExaminerAndy Samuels

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(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A stock exchange is a place where people interested in buying and selling stock in publicly traded companies come together to buy and sell stocks (shares) of companies and their derivatives.

The two most popular stock exchanges in the U.S. are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ).

Stock exchanges exist around the globe. The ten largest stock exchanges and their size (in trillions of U.S. dollars) according to Reuters are as follows:

1. NYSE - $21.79

2. Nasdaq Stock Market - $11.81

3. London Stock Exchange - $7.57

4. Tokyo Stock Exchange - $5.82

5. Euronext - $3.85

6. Deutsche Boerse (Germany) - $2.74

7. BME Spanish Exchanges - $1.93

8. Borsa Italiana - $1.59

9. Swiss Exchange - $1.40

10. Korea Stock Exchange $1.34

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