In 2024, stock markets in the United States accounted for roughly 60 percent of world stocks. The next largest country by stock market share was Japan, followed by the United Kingdom. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ are the largest stock exchange operators worldwide. What is a stock exchange? The first modern publicly traded company was the Dutch East Industry Company, which sold shares to the general public to fund expeditions to Asia. Since then, groups of companies have formed exchanges in which brokers and dealers can come together and make transactions in one space. Stock market indices group companies trading on a given exchange, giving an idea of how they evolve in real time. Appeal of stock ownership Over half of adults in the United States are investing money in the stock market. Stocks are an attractive investment because the possible return is higher than offered by other financial instruments.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the largest stock exchange in the world, with an equity market capitalization of just below 32 trillion U.S. dollars as of January 2025. The following three exchanges were the NASDAQ, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the Japan Exchange Group. What is a stock exchange? A stock exchange is a marketplace where stockbrokers, traders, buyers, and sellers can trade in equities products. The largest exchanges have thousands of listed companies. These companies sell shares of their business, giving the general public the opportunity to invest in them. The oldest stock exchange worldwide is the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, founded in the late sixteenth century. Other functions of a stock exchange Since these are publicly traded companies, every firm listed on a stock exchange has had an initial public offering (IPO). The largest IPOs can raise billions of dollars in equity for the firm involved. Related to stock exchanges are derivatives exchanges, where stock options, futures contracts, and other derivatives can be traded.

While the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic caused all major stock market indices to fall sharply in March 2020, both the extent of the decline at this time, and the shape of the subsequent recovery, have varied greatly. For example, on March 15, 2020, major European markets and traditional stocks in the United States had shed around 40 percent of their value compared to January 5, 2020. However, Asian markets and the NASDAQ Composite Index only shed around 20 to 25 percent of their value. A similar story can be seen with the post-coronavirus recovery. As of November 14, 2021 the NASDAQ composite index value was around 65 percent higher than in January 2020, while most other markets were only between 20 and 40 percent higher.

Why did the NASDAQ recover the quickest?

Based in New York City, the NASDAQ is famously considered a proxy for the technology industry as many of the world’s largest technology industries choose to list there. And it just so happens that technology was the sector to perform the best during the coronavirus pandemic. Accordingly, many of the largest companies who benefitted the most from the pandemic such as Amazon, PayPal and Netflix, are listed on the NADSAQ, helping it to recover the fastest of the major stock exchanges worldwide.

Which markets suffered the most?

The energy sector was the worst hit by the global COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, oil companies share prices suffered large declines over 2020 as demand for oil plummeted while workers found themselves no longer needing to commute, and the tourism industry ground to a halt. In addition, overall share prices in two major stock exchanges – the London Stock Exchange (as represented by the FTSE 100 index) and Hong Kong (as represented by the Hang Seng index) – have notably recovered slower than other major exchanges. However, in both these, the underlying issue behind the slower recovery likely has more to do with political events unrelated to the coronavirus than it does with the pandemic – namely Brexit and general political unrest, respectively.

The value of the DJIA index amounted to 43,191.24 at the end of March 2025, up from 21,917.16 at the end of March 2020. Global panic about the coronavirus epidemic caused the drop in March 2020, which was the worst drop since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Dow Jones Industrial Average index – additional information The Dow Jones Industrial Average index is a price-weighted average of 30 of the largest American publicly traded companies on New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, and includes companies like Goldman Sachs, IBM and Walt Disney. This index is considered to be a barometer of the state of the American economy. DJIA index was created in 1986 by Charles Dow. Along with the NASDAQ 100 and S&P 500 indices, it is amongst the most well-known and used stock indexes in the world. The year that the 2018 financial crisis unfolded was one of the worst years of the Dow. It was also in 2008 that some of the largest ever recorded losses of the Dow Jones Index based on single-day points were registered. On September 29th of 2008, for instance, the Dow had a loss of 106.85 points, one of the largest single-day losses of all times. The best years in the history of the index still are 1915, when the index value increased by 81.66 percent in one year, and 1933, year when the index registered a growth of 63.74 percent.

The main stock market index in China (SHANGHAI) increased 22 points or 0.66% since the beginning of 2025, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from China. China Shanghai Composite Stock Market Index - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

Japan Index: TOPIX Core Large 70 data was reported at 1,709.000 01Apr1998=1000 in Oct 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,878.120 01Apr1998=1000 for Sep 2018. Japan Index: TOPIX Core Large 70 data is updated monthly, averaging 1,081.800 01Apr1998=1000 from Feb 1998 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 249 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,878.120 01Apr1998=1000 in Sep 2018 and a record low of 662.180 01Apr1998=1000 in Feb 2009. Japan Index: TOPIX Core Large 70 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Japan Exchange Group. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.Z002: All Stock Exchange: Market Indices.

The value of global domestic equity market increased from 65.04 trillion U.S. dollars in 2013 to 124.63 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. The United States was by far the leading country with the largest share of total world stocks as of 2024. Global market capitalization in different regions The market capitalization of domestic companies listed varied across different regions of the world. As of Decmber 2024, the Americas region had the largest domestic equity market, totaling 62 trillion U.S. dollars. This region is home to the NYSE and Nasdaq, which are the two largest stock exchange operators in the world. The market capitalization of these two exchanges alone exceeded 60 billion U.S. dollars as of January 2025, larger than the total market capitalization in the Asia-Pacific, and in the EMEA regions in the same period. Largest Stock Exchanges in Latin America As of December 2024, the B3 (Brasil Bolsa Balcao) was the biggest stock exchange in Latin America in terms of market capitalization and the second-largest in terms of number of listed companies. Following the B3 were the Mexican Stock Exchange and the Santiago Stock Exchange in Chile. The most valuable company in Latin America is listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange: Fomento Económico Mexicano, a multinational beverage and retail company headquartered in Monterrey, had market cap of 177 billion U.S. dollars as of March 2025.

As of January 29, 2025, the FTSE index stood at 8,557.81 points - well above its average value of around 7,500 points in the past few years.On the 12th of March 2020, amid the escalating crisis surrounding the coronavirus and fears of a global recession, the FTSE 100 suffered the second largest one day crash in its history and the biggest since the 1987 market crash. On the 23rd of March, the FTSE index saw its lowest value this year to date at 4,993.89 but has since began a tentative recovery. With the continuation of the pandemic, the FTSE 100 index was making a tentative recovery between late March 2020 and early June 2020. Since then the FSTE 100 index had plateaued towards the end of July, before starting a tentative upward trend in November. FTSE 100 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, otherwise known as the FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 largest companies trading on the London Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalization. At the end of March 2024, the largest company trading on the LSE was Shell. The largest ever initial public offering (IPO) on the LSE was Glencore International plc. European stock exchanges While nearly every country in Europe has a stock exchange, only five are considered major, and have a market capital of over one trillion U.S dollars. European stock exchanges make up two of the top ten major stock markets in the world. Europe’s biggest stock exchange is the Euronext which combines seven markets based in Belgium, France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal.

The main stock market index in Japan (JP225) decreased 2147 points or 5.38% since the beginning of 2025, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Japan. Japan Stock Market Index (JP225) - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

Ten years of daily data for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) market index. Each point of the dataset is represented by the daily closing price for the DJIA. Historical data can be downloaded via the red button on the upper right corner of the chart.

The NYSE U.S. 100 Index tracks the largest U.S. companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange. This statistic shows the leading 20 companies on the NYSE U.S. 100 Index by market capitalization. As of January 28, 2024 the multinational conglomerate company Berkshire Hathaway ranked as the first, with a market capitalization of over 900 billion euros. This was followed by Eli Lilly and JP Morgan Chase, with market capitalizations amounting to 695 billion and 678 billion euros respectively. NYSE U.S. 100 Index vs. Nasdaq 100 Index The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq are the largest two stock exchanges in the world, but they differ in the kinds of companies they list. The NYSE is known to list stable and long-lasting firms, commonly referred to as “blue-chip” companies. In contrast, the Nasdaq is renowned for listing the world’s biggest companies, mainly from the tech industry. Similar to the NYSE U.S. 100 Index, the Nasdaq 100 Index tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange, including both U.S. and non-U.S. companies. The leader of the NYSE U.S. 100 index: Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway, the leader of the NYSE U.S. 100 Index, was also among the world's largest companies by revenue in 2023. The company is a multinational conglomerate and holding company with insurance as its core business and interests in other sectors such as railroad, utilities and energy, finance. In fact, Berkshire was the world's biggest insurance company by revenue in 2023. As a holding company, it has significant stakes in some of the world’s largest companies, including Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola. With its diverse background in various businesses and industries, Berkshire Hathaway had a total revenue of 365 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.

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United States Index: Dow Jones: Large Cap Technology data was reported at 1,703.420 31Dec1991=100 in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,720.520 31Dec1991=100 for May 2018. United States Index: Dow Jones: Large Cap Technology data is updated monthly, averaging 666.220 31Dec1991=100 from Aug 2005 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 155 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,720.520 31Dec1991=100 in May 2018 and a record low of 328.060 31Dec1991=100 in Feb 2009. United States Index: Dow Jones: Large Cap Technology data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Dow Jones. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.Z015: Dow Jones: Indexes.

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Based on the total number of companies listed, the Japan Exchange Group was the largest stock exchange operator in the world as of Janaury 2025, with 3,968 companies listed. Of these, only six were foreign companies, with the remaining being domestic. The stock exchange with the highest number of international companies at this time was the U.S. Nasdaq, with 871. However, despite only having the seventh-highest number of companies, the New York Stock Exchange has the highest market capitalization of any stock exchange operator.

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Switzerland Equity Index: SIX Swiss Exchange: SPI Shares: Large data was reported at 517.644 01Jun1987=100 in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 507.789 01Jun1987=100 for May 2018. Switzerland Equity Index: SIX Swiss Exchange: SPI Shares: Large data is updated monthly, averaging 430.163 01Jun1987=100 from Dec 1997 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 247 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 570.200 01Jun1987=100 in May 2007 and a record low of 249.219 01Jun1987=100 in Mar 2003. Switzerland Equity Index: SIX Swiss Exchange: SPI Shares: Large data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by SIX Swiss Exchange. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Switzerland – Table CH.Z001: SIX Swiss Exchange: Stock Market Index.

At 8.07 U.S. dollars, Switzerland has the most expensive Big Macs in the world, according to the July 2024 Big Mac index. Concurrently, the cost of a Big Mac was 5.69 dollars in the U.S., and 6.06 U.S. dollars in the Euro area. What is the Big Mac index? The Big Mac index, published by The Economist, is a novel way of measuring whether the market exchange rates for different countries’ currencies are overvalued or undervalued. It does this by measuring each currency against a common standard – the Big Mac hamburger sold by McDonald’s restaurants all over the world. Twice a year the Economist converts the average national price of a Big Mac into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate at that point in time. As a Big Mac is a completely standardized product across the world, the argument goes that it should have the same relative cost in every country. Differences in the cost of a Big Mac expressed as U.S. dollars therefore reflect differences in the purchasing power of each currency. Is the Big Mac index a good measure of purchasing power parity? Purchasing power parity (PPP) is the idea that items should cost the same in different countries, based on the exchange rate at that time. This relationship does not hold in practice. Factors like tax rates, wage regulations, whether components need to be imported, and the level of market competition all contribute to price variations between countries. The Big Mac index does measure this basic point – that one U.S. dollar can buy more in some countries than others. There are more accurate ways to measure differences in PPP though, which convert a larger range of products into their dollar price. Adjusting for PPP can have a massive effect on how we understand a country’s economy. The country with the largest GDP adjusted for PPP is China, but when looking at the unadjusted GDP of different countries, the U.S. has the largest economy.

Brazil Index: B3: Mid Large Cap: MLCX data was reported at 1,934.560 30Apr2008=1000 in Jun 2019. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,863.960 30Apr2008=1000 for May 2019. Brazil Index: B3: Mid Large Cap: MLCX data is updated monthly, averaging 945.330 30Apr2008=1000 from Aug 2005 (Median) to Jun 2019, with 167 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,934.560 30Apr2008=1000 in Jun 2019 and a record low of 396.980 30Apr2008=1000 in Aug 2005. Brazil Index: B3: Mid Large Cap: MLCX data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by B3 S.A.. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Financial Market – Table BR.ZA002: B3: Index: Monthly.

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