NASDAQ

NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation) is the second largest stock market and automated and electronic stock exchange in the United States, being the first The New York Stock Exchange, with more than 3,800 companies and corporations. It has more hourly trading volume than any other stock exchange in the world. More than 7,000 small- and mid-cap stocks are listed on the NASDAQ. for understanding high-tech companies in electronics, computing, telecommunications, biotechnology, and many others. Its most representative indices are the Nasdaq 100 and the Nasdaq Composite. Its main office is in New York and its current CEO is Adena Friedman.

History

It was founded by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and went private in a series of sales in 2000 and 2001. It is owned and operated by Nasdaq, Inc.

The Nasdaq has its roots in the request of the United States Congress to the commission that regulates the stock market (Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC) to carry out a study on the security of the markets. The preparation of this report detected that the unregulated markets were not very transparent. The SEC proposed its automation and from there the NASDAQ Stock Market arose, whose first session was held on February 8, 1971.

Between 1997 and 2000, it powered 1,649 public companies and in the process generated $316.5 billion. After a deep restructuring in 2000, Nasdaq became a fully shareholder-driven, for-profit company. Today it continues to increase its capacity in trading volume, being able to trade 6 billion shares in a day. Today, the Nasdaq headquarters is housed in a building in Times Square in New York and has become a tourist attraction for visitors to the city.

One of its presidents was Bernard Madoff, a former Wall Street operator who in December 2008 (already as president of Madoff Investment Securities in New York) was accused of a gigantic fraud.

NASDAQ Indices

Not only shares of high-tech companies are listed on NASDAQ, therefore a system of indices has appeared, each of which reflects the situation in the corresponding sector of the economy. There are currently thirteen indices of this type, which are based on the quotes of securities traded on the NASDAQ electronic system.

Nasdaq Composite

The Nasdaq Composite Index includes stocks from all companies listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange (more than 5,000 in total). The market value of equity is calculated as follows: the total number of shares in the company is multiplied by the current market value of one share.

Nasdaq-100

The Nasdaq-100 includes the 100 largest companies in terms of capitalization, whose shares are traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The index does not include companies from the financial sector. As of 2021, 57% of the Nasdaq-100 are technology companies. On the Nasdaq stock exchange, the fund with the ticker symbol QQQ repeats with high fidelity the dynamics of the Nasdaq- 100.

Other NASDAQ Indices

• NASDAQ Bank Index — for banking companies
• NASDAQ Biotechnology Index — for medical and pharmaceutical companies
• NASDAQ Computer Index — for companies that develop software and hardware for computers
• NASDAQ Financial Index — for financial sector companies, except banks and insurance companies.
• NASDAQ Industrial Index — for industrial enterprises
• NASDAQ Insurance Index — for insurance companies
• NASDAQ Telecommunications Index — for telecommunications companies

Quotation availability

Nasdaq listings are available at three levels:

• Level 1 shows the highest supply and the lowest demand: internal quote.
• Level 2 shows all public quotes from market animators along with information from market operators who want to buy or sell shares and orders recently executed.
• Level 3 is used by market animators and allows them to enter their quotes and execute orders.