The largest stock exchanges in the world are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq, based on the total market capitalization of their listed companies.
This is a list of some of the largest stock exchanges in the world.
NYSE remains one of the world's leading auction markets, although some of its functions have been already transferred to electronic trading platforms. This means that there are real flesh-and-blood specialists present on its trading floors. Each of them specializes in a particular stock, and in buying and selling the stock in the auction.
The Nasdaq is an electronic exchange. It has no physical location. Instead, the exchange is a network of computers and all of the trading takes place on an electronic platform. There are dealers (or market makers) who interact with traders and provide liquidity to the market. They post the bid and ask quotes for the stocks they are willing to trade.
A developing type of exchange that exists as a part of the exchange structure is the ECN (electronic communication network). It connects buyers and sellers directly, bypassing the market maker. Both NYSE and Nasdaq have ECNs, thus offering this alternative way of trading to their clients.
Working time
The stock exchanges have fixed working time. For example, NYSE is based in New York and is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST, unless there's an early close due to a holiday.
The Nasdaq normal trading day begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. EST. Pre-market trading is available from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. EST, and the after-hours trading is from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST.
