-Puskar Shrestha
Stock markets refer to the collection of markets and exchanges where the trading of securities takes place. The form of securities dealt may be equities, bonds and other sorts of securities. The size of market depends upon the economic structure of a country. Some countries have more than one stock exchange (USA, China, India, etc.) while some have a single stock exchange like ours.
For comparing any two of the stock exchanges, market capitalization is considered as the most rational ground. There are certain stock exchanges that tend to dominate the capital markets of the world based on their market capitalization. The following list shows the top 10 stock markets of the world based on their market capitalization. It also shows where Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) stands among them.
Top 10 capital markets of the world:
- New York Stock Exchange(NYSE)
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (nicknamed ‘The Big Board’) is an American stock exchange and is the world’s largest stock exchange by market capitalization. It has the market capitalization of US$30 trillion with over 2,400 companies listed on its board. It is located at 11 Wall Street, Lower Manhatten, New York City, New York. It is owned by Intercontinental Exchange.
- Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ)
The Nasdaq Stock Market is also an American stock exchange and is ranked as the world’s second largest stock market after NYSE located in the same city. Its market capitalization is US$ 12 trillion with more than 3,900 listed companies. Nasdaq is owned by Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic stock market network and several other US stock and options exchange.
- London Stock Exchange (LSE)
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange located in the City of London, England. It is the third largest stock market in the world with a market capitalization of US$5.8 trillion with more than 2,500 listed companies. In 2017 alone, it witnessed increase of 221 points.
- Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)
The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO/TSE) is a Japanese stock exchange. It is the fourth largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies and is the largest in Asia. It is located in Tokyo, Japan and has the market capitalization of US$ 5.5 trillion. Over 3,575 companies are listed in TSE.
- Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE)
Shanghai, China based stock market is listed as the fifth largest stock market in the world and the second largest in East Asia. It has a market capitalization of US$ 5.05 trillion. The SSE has 1,366 listed companies on its board.
- Euronext (Euronext)
Euronext is a leading pan-European exchange in the Eurozone with nearly 1,300 listed companies. Its market capitalization is worth around US$ 4.18 trillion. It is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It has gained close to 24.9% or 10.25 points since the start of 2017.
- Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKeX)
With a market capitalization of US$4.14 trillion, HKeX comes at the seventh spot of the world’s top 10 stock markets. It has about 2,500 listed companies trading on its bourse. In 2017, it gained 926.3 points. It is located in Hong Kong and is owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.
- Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE)
Shenzhen Stock Exchange is a China based stock exchange located in Futian district of Shenzhen, Guangdong. It has a market capitalization of US$ 3.65 trillion. It has about 2,000 companies listed in its market.
- Bombay stock Exchange (BSE)
BSE is Asia’s oldest stock exchange established in 1852. It has a market capitalization of US$ 2.22 trillion. In 2017, BSE had increased to 14,494.19 points i.e. the market had increased by 30.9% growth from 11,072.57 points.
- Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)
Toronto Stock Exchange is the ninth largest stock exchange in the world. It is located in Toronto, Canada. With about 1,487 companies listed on its board, the stock exchange has a market capitalization close to US$ 1.8 trillion.
Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE)
Nepal Stock Exchange is the only stock exchange of Nepal. It is located in Singha Durbar Plaza, Kathmandu. The market capitalization of the stock exchange is about US$ 16.267 billion. It has 206 listed companies. NEPSE Ltd. is a non-profit organization, operating under the Securities Exchange Act 1983. It is the successor to the Securities Exchange Centre, which was in existence since 1976. There are a total of 9 sectors under NEPSE. Currently, foreign investment as well as NRN investment has not started in NEPSE. Apart from these, there has been dilemma regarding the full automation of the stock exchange, though the process of making NEPSE a fully automated exchange was taken a long time back. SEBON has decided to introduce a new stock exchange in the Nepalese market and it is yet to see its impact on NEPSE.
