The ASX’s (Australian Stock Exchange) physical building.
A stock exchange is a centralised place for corporations, governments, investors and traders that has the infrastructure to facilitate the trading of stocks (and other financial instruments such as commodities and bonds). NASDAQ, NYSE and ASX are examples of stock exchanges. Note that in stock exchanges, you’re only trading with existing shareholders, not the company itself (usually).
- Electronic stock exchanges such as the Nasdaq connects buyers and sellers through electronic communication networks (ECNs) and do not require a centralised location for buyers and sellers to meet.
- NYSE and NASDAQ are the two largest stock exchanges. When we say ‘largest’, we just mean largest based on total market capitalisation of all the companies listed on the exchange.