Nasdaq
Candlefocus EditorThe origins of Nasdaq date back to 1971, when the Nasdaq Stock Market began to emerge from the network of over-the-counter (OTC) brokers. Over time, it eventually developed into a premier exchange for high-growth, tech-focused companies and also started to offer a wide range of financial products and services.
Today, Nasdaq functions as an electronic marketplace for buyers and sellers of securities, consisting of an elaborated mix of stock exchanges, market makers, brokers, and electronic communications networks, among others. Nasdaq provides access to the securities, trading services, indices, analytics, market data, and other related services, such as marketwatch, online educational resources, and investor relations outreach.
Nasdaq also maintains a robust listing platform, known as its Nasdaq Global Select Market (GSM), which is considered its most prestigious tier, providing a higher degree of liquidity, transparency, and corporate governance to the listed companies. It also has two other tiers below that—the Capital Market and Exchange Centre—which offer access to companies of different sizes and calibers to investors.
In addition to traditional stocks, Nasdaq also offers ETFs, derivatives, fixed income products, mutual funds, commodities, options, and currency trading. Nasdaq is also home to the world’s most liquid IPO market and facilitates the trading of more than 10,000 different securities across its various exchanges.
In today’s age, Nasdaq is more than just an exchange. It’s a global leader in technology and a major catalyst for innovation, providing businesses of all sizes access to capital, new products and services, and the ability to scale quickly. With offices in over 15 countries, Nasdaq is constantly working to improve market infrastructure and promote access to capital across the world’s financial markets.