Karachi Stock Exchange

The Karachi Stock Exchange or KSE is a stock exchange located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Founded in 1947, it is Pakistan's largest and oldest stock exchange, with many Pakistani as well as overseas listings. Its current premises are situated on Stock Exchange Road, in the heart of Karachi's Business District. Karachi Stock Exchange is the biggest and most liquid exchange in Pakistan. It was declared the “Best Performing Stock Market of the World for the year 2002”. As on May 30, 2008, 654 companies were listed with a market capitalization of Rs 3,746.203 billion (US$ 56.334 billion) having listed capital of Rs.705.873 billion(US$ 10.615 billion). The KSE 100TM Index closed at 12130.51 on May 30, 2008.The exchange has pre-market sessions from 09:15am to 09:30am and normal trading sessions from 09:30am to 03:30pm. It is the second oldest stock exchange in South Asia. The Karachi stock exchange has undergone a considerable deal of downturn partly due to global financial crisis and partly on account of domestic troubles. It remained suspended in excess of 4 months and resumed normal trading only on December 15, 2008. The KSE 100 Index and KSE 30 Index after hitting the low around mid January has now re-bounced and recovered 20-25% till March 12th 2009.

Dubai Financial Market

The Dubai Financial Market is a stock exchange located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was founded on March 26, 2000. There are about 57 companies listed (as of August 2007) on DFM, most of them are UAE-based companies and a few dual listings for companies based in other MENA region countries. Many companies allow foreigners to own their shares. Total market cap is around $360bn, which is roughly equal to the market cap of Abu Dhabi Securities Market ($380bn) (as of August 2007). In comparison, the market cap for Exxon Mobil (as of Oct. 2008) is $360bn. During 2004 and 2005, there were significant increases in the volume of shares traded and the share prices of many companies. However, towards the end of 2005 and through the first few months of 2006 the bubble has burst and share values dropped by around 60% on DFM, along with similar decreases in most other Persian Gulf stock markets. DFM is one of three stock exchanges in the UAE. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) also lists mostly UAE companies and the recently opened Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) was set up to trade international stocks. DFM is majority owned by Borse Dubai, with 20% of the DFM's shares listed on the DFM platform.

Hong Kong Stock Exchange

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the stock exchange of Hong Kong. The exchange has predominantly been the main exchange for Hong Kong where shares of listed companies are traded. It is Asia's third largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization, behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange. As of 31 December 2007, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange had 1,241 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $2.7 trillion. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing is the holding company for the exchange. The history of the securities exchange began formally in the late 19th century with the first establishment in 1891, though informal securities exchanges have been known to take place since 1861. The exchange has predominantly been the main exchange for Hong Kong despite co-existing with other exchanges at different point in time. After a series of complex mergers and acquisitions, HKSE remains to be the core. From 1947 to 1969 the exchange monopolized the market.

Kuwait Stock Exchange

The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) is the national stock market of The State of Kuwait. Although several share holding companies (such as NBK in 1952) existed in Kuwait prior to the creation of the KSE, it was not until October 1962 that a law was passed to organize the country's stock market. The Kuwait Stock Exchange is also among the first and largest stock exchanges in the Gulf region, and is now gaining prominence as one of the most potentially important in the world.

• The Kuwait Stock Exchange shall enjoy an independent judicial personality with the right of litigation in a mode facilitating the performance of its functions for the purpose of realizing the objectives of its organization in the best manner within the scope of regulations and laws governing the Stock Exchange operations.
• The Stock Exchange shall within its activity act to direct and rationalize dealing in stocks and securities, within the scope of its powers in order to develop and stabilize dealing in securities in a manner securing safe, easy and accurate transactions so as to avoid any confusion in dealings.
• The Stock Exchange, in pursuance of the research and the studies concluded by it and its follow up of the security dealing process shall render appropriate advice and opinion to the competent government authorities regarding the financial status of the Stock Exchange member companies and means of promoting their efficiency for realization of their relevant objectives.
• The Stock Exchange shall participate with the competent authorities in order to realize coordination and integration among the financial and the economic activities and the capital movement so as to assist in achieving the economic and the financial development and stability of the state.
• The Stock Exchange staff shall continue to develop the systems and the methods of dealing in securities, besides introducing modern techniques such as those applied in advanced stock markets for the purpose of achieving a sound financial position for the Kuwait Stock Exchange on both, regional and international levels.

The Stock Exchange shall act to encourage saving, promote investment awareness among citizens, protect depositors and

European Stock Exchange

Euronext N.V. is a pan-European stock exchange based in Paris and with subsidiaries in Belgium, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal and the United Kingdom. In addition to equities and derivatives markets, the Euronext group provides clearing and information services. As of 31 January 2006, markets run by Euronext had a market capitalization of US$2.9 trillion, making it the 5th largest exchange on the planet. Euronext merged with NYSE Group to form NYSE Euronext, the "first global stock exchange". Euronext was formed on 22 September 2000 following a merger of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, Brussels Stock Exchange, and Paris Bourse, in order to take advantage of the harmonisation of the European Union financial markets. In December 2001 Euronext acquired the shares of the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE), which continues to operate under its own governance. Beginning in early 2003, all derivatives products traded on its affiliated exchanges trade on LIFFECONNECT, LIFFE's electronic trading platform. In 2002 the group merged with the Portuguese stock exchange Bolsa de Valores de Lisboa e Porto (BVLP), renamed Euronext Lisbon Euronext has cross-membership and cross-access agreements with the Warsaw Stock Exchange for their cash and derivatives products, and with the Helsinki Exchanges on cash trading; ownership agreements are currently excluded. The Euronext List encompasses all quoted companies. It has two segments; NextEconomy, consisting of companies whose equities are traded continuously and are active in sectors such as information technology and biotechnology, and NextPrime, consisting of companies in more traditional sectors that are traded continuously. Inclusion in the segments is voluntary. Euronext manages two broad-based indices. The Euronext 100 Index is the blue chip index. The Next 150 Index is a market capitalization index of the 150 next largest stocks, representing the large- to mid-capitalization segment of listed stocks at Euronext. The NextEconomy and NextPrime segments each have a price index and a total return index, weighted by market capitalization and excluding the shares listed in the Euronext 100 Index. The indices have a base date of 31 December 2001, with a starting level of 1000 points. Six Next Weather indices for France, launched in January 2002, are among the sector indices planned by Euronext. Exchange traded funds, called trackers, comprise Euronext's Next Track product segment, and have been introduced on the AEX index, CAC 40, Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50, and various pan-European regional and sector indices. Euronext has introduced several commodity futures contracts, available to all constituents. Winefex Bordeaux futures are traded on Euronext Paris. Euronext.liffe is the subsidiary of Euronext responsible for all options and futures contracts trading, formed by the merger of the derivatives activities of the various constituents of Euronext with LIFFE.

Tokyo Stock Exchange

The Tokyo Stock Exchange, or TSE, located in Tokyo, Japan, is the second largest stock exchange market in the world by market value, second only to the New York Stock Exchange. As of 31 December 2007, the Tokyo Stock Exchange had 2,414 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $4.3 trillion. The TSE is incorporated as a kabushiki kaisha with nine directors, four auditors and eight executive officers. Its headquarters are located at 2-1 Nihombashi Kabutocho, Chūō, and Tokyo, Japan. Its operating hours are from 9:00 to 11:00 am and from 12:30 to 3:00 pm. From April 24, 2006, the afternoon trading session started at its usual time of 12:30 p.m. Stocks listed on the TSE are separated into the First Section (for large companies), the Second Section (for mid-sized companies), and the "Mothers" section (for high-growth startup companies). As of March 2006, there are 1,721 First Section companies, 489 Second Section companies and 156 Mothers companies. The main indexes tracking the TSE are the Nikkei 225 index of companies selected by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Japan's largest business newspaper), the TOPIX index based on the share prices of First Section companies, and the J30 index of large industrial companies maintained by Japan's major broadsheet newspapers. 89 domestic and 19 foreign securities companies participate in TSE trading. Other TSE-related institutions include:

The exchange's press club, called the Kabuto Club which meets on the third floor of the TSE building. Most Kabuto Club members are affiliated with the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Kyodo News, Jiji Press, or business television broadcasters such as Bloomberg LP and CNBC. The Kabuto Club is generally busiest during April and May, when public companies release their annual accounts.

Toronto Stock Exchange

The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) now known publicly as the "TMX" is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalization. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned and operated by TMX Group for the trading of senior equities. A broad range of businesses from Canada, the United States, Europe, and other countries are represented on the exchange. In addition to conventional securities, the exchange lists various exchange-traded funds, split share corporations, income trusts and investment funds. The TMX is the leader in the mining and oil & gas sector; more mining and oil & gas companies are listed on the TMX than any other exchange in the world. The exchange has a normal trading session from 09:30am to 04:00pm ET and a post-market session from 04:15pm to 05:00pm ET on all days of the week except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays declared by the Exchange in advance. As of 31 December 2007, the TSX had 3,951 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $2.2 trillion. The exchange is home to all of Canada's Big Five commercial banks, including: CIBC, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada and the Toronto-Dominion Bank, making the Exchange the centre for banking in the country. This was seen as being most evident during the proposed mergers of Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal alongside CIBC and Toronto-Dominion Bank in 1998, which were seen as stopping competition by the then Finance Minister Paul Martin. The exchange is the primary listing for several energy companies including; Cameco Corporation, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Canadian Oil Sands Trust, EnCana Corporation, Husky Energy Inc., Imperial Oil Ltd. and Nexen Inc. all within the top 40 companies listed in on the exchange.