Introduction to NASDAQ
Nasdaq (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is a global, American based stock exchange market. It is the second largest electronic marketplace with regard to the number of companies' shares traded and the volume. ‘Nasdaq’ is also referred to as Nasdaq Composite, a stock index that contains up and above to 3000+ leading companies across the world.
Understanding NASDAQ
Despite being the second largest, Nasdaq has been the first for many things since 1971. It was the only electronic stock exchange at that time that then slowly became the first to launch a website, to opt to cloud based computing and storage next and become the pioneer of electronic trading.
It set the global standard for modern day trading, evolving from the specialist and auction like trading systems. It became the hub for many tech based companies and had become a go-to listing exchange during the dot com boom in the 1990s. Nasdaq commenced its operations from 8th February 1971 and split from NASD, its owning company, in 2006, to grow from being a mere stock exchange to national securities exchange.
Highlights of NASDAQ
When referring to Nasdaq, people may mean the stock exchange itself, or the stock index Nasdaq Composite, or the NASDAQ-100.
The trading session on Nasdaq opens at 9am and closes at 4pm.
Nasdaq is host to three different levels of quotes on stocks and also contains three separate market tiers: Capital Market, Global Market and Global Select Market.
Over 3300+ companies, including many tech and other giants like Apple, Facebook, Starbucks etc. are traded on Nasdaq.
Nasdaq is primarily tech-centered due to its reputation during the technology and dot com boom. It is more volatile than NYSE because more growth oriented companies seek to list here.
Originally styled as NASDAQ, Nasdaq is an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. It started its operations to become synonymous with over-the-top (OTC) trading and quotations in public media for many years.
To list on Nasdaq, the listing requirements must be met. A new request was put to the SEC by Nasdaq in December, 2020, that the board of directors of the listed or to-be-listed company have diverse directors; two of whom must identify as female and represent another underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+, respectively. It is yet to be affirmed by the SEC.
