Currently, it is difficult to overestimate the role of stock exchanges in the global economy. They are a key element of the global financial market. It is hard to believe that in the past these giants, where all the money of the world is now collected, were not so meaningful for the economy. Among the exchanges that have a long history and great influence, experts primarily refer to eight financial institutions.

Amsterdam Stock Exchange

This is the former name of the agency, which merged with two stock exchanges in September 2000 - the Brussels and Paris Stock Exchanges, forming the united Euronext company, now known as Euronext Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is considered to be the oldest in the world. It was founded in 1602. This financial institution for the first time introduced trading samples of goods, and later developed standards for it. For the first time in the world, operations with securities started to be carried out on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

London Stock Exchange (LSE)

Many consider that the London Stock Exchange (LSE) started to operate in 1801, but in fact, it was founded 230 years earlier, in 1571. This authority is well known to traders of the entire financial world. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest sites in Europe. About 1 thousand shares of companies located in 46 developed countries and countries of the emerging markets are represented here. The LSE is very popular among investors all over the world.

Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB)

This authority is the largest among the German stock exchanges, as well as one of the world's leading stock exchanges. The site operator is Deutsche Boerse Group AG. The stock exchange was founded in 1585 in Frankfurt am Main, which by that time was a major European trading center. In 1993, the financial institution became a subsidiary of the Deutsche Boerse Group. The leading DAX stock index reflects the stock prices of the 30 largest German companies, and is also considered to be the “barometer" of the state of the German economy.

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

The most famous stock exchange in the world is located on Wall Street in New York. It is the largest in the world in terms of money turnover. The agency took the leading positions at the end of XIX - early XX centuries. The idea of its creation arose in 1792 thanks to the efforts of 24 New York brokers who worked with financial instruments. The Bank of New York shares were the first to quote on the new exchange. Currently, the NYSE uses the world famous Dow Jones index, reflecting the stocks of industrial companies, as well as the NYSE Composite and NYSE ARCA Tech 100 Indices.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

This is the oldest stock exchange in India and in the Asian region that was founded in 1875, during the British rule. A group of 22 brokers began trading securities in the 1950s. Later, these market players created an association, on the basis of which in 1875 they organized the first exchange in Asia. In 1928, a new high-rise building was built, in which BSE is located to this day.

Tokyo Stock Exchange

This financial institution was founded in 1878. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is considered to be a non-profit organization with broad rights in the field of self-government. It is a member of the Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchanges Federation. In 2012, the Tokyo Stock Exchange merged with the Osaka Securities Exchange. The new combined company, named Japan Exchange Group Inc., began operating on January 1, 2013.

Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)

This Canadian stock exchange is one of the largest financial institutions in the world. It was created in 1852, and then reorganized in 1878. In 1934, the agency merged with the Standard Stock and Mining Exchange of Canada. Since 1977, the stock exchange has been carring out trading through the world's first electronic system, named Computer Assisted Trading System (CATS). In 2002, all shares of the exchange were bought out by TMX Group Inc. In addition to TSX, the united stock exchange included seven more trading and financial companies.

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)

This agency is considered to be the largest among African stock exchanges. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange was founded to trade the securities of gold mining companies. The official date of its creation is November 8, 1887. After the century-old practice in open outcry, the financial institution moved to high-tech computer systems in 1996. Like many modern trading platforms, the JSE conted on computerization.