The Stock Exchanges in the World

During the past week's spring break, I did my little excursion to Zurich and Munich. On the last in Zurich, I visited Finance Musuem in Zurich. The museum is built at the lower level of Zurich stock exchange, which is called The SIX Swiss Exchange.

Finance Musuem in Zurich

That tour is very educational, and I learned the history of stock market and its revolution. And guess what's the world's first stock exchange? The world's first stock exchange is founded in Amsterdam, Netherland in 1602! I have a photo of the Amsterdam bourse and the Bull from last year's spring break trip. Most people know the Bull on the Wall Street in front of NYSE. But actually, the original Bull is from Amsterdam!

The bull in front of Bourse in Amsterdam

The Zurich stock exchange was founded in 1873. Switzerland is not the part of Europe Union, and it maintains its own currency, the Swiss Franc. Most shops and places in Zurich prefer use of Swiss Franc and not euros.

Today, the NYSE, established in 1792, and Nasdaq, established in 1971, are the two largest stock exchanges in the world, with market cap of approximately $62.2 billion and $42.43 billion, respectively. NYSE and Nasdaq are the primary indicators of the global financial market. The movement of NYSE and Nasdaq directly impact the global market and stock exchanges in other countries. The performance of NYSE and Nasdaq is the benchmark of the world's financial market.