Tokyo Stock Exchange

Aptly located in Tokyo Japan, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is the second biggest stock market exchange (by total market value) in the world, right after the New York Stock Exchange. Tokyo Stock Exchange has market capitalization of 4.3 trillion US dollar equivalent, a volume of nearly $763 trillion, and currently lists 2,414 companies on the Exchange. Its main indexes are the Nikkei 225 and the TOPIX.

Founded in 1978, the Tokyo Stock Exchange has grown significantly along with the Japanese economy. Currently it is governed as a stock company under Japanese law and hires 4 auditors, 8 executive officers and 9 directors in its corporate structure. The stocks listed on the exchange are divided in 3 sections; the first being for large companies, the following for mid range corporations and the third for new high growth companies. There are more companies in the first section than the other two sections combined.

Trading hours for the Tokyo stock exchange run between 9am to 11am for the first session, and 12:30pm to 3pm for the second session. The exchange does not trade on Saturday, Sunday, or pre-announced holiday periods.

As of May, 2000, keeping up with its technology based culture, the Tokyo Stock Exchange switched to an all electronic trading platform, eradicating the old fashioned trading floor methods. This system allows for fast and accurate trades and real time statistical updates, allowing the whole system to run more efficiently for today's fast paced society.

One of the more recent headlines surrounding the Tokyo Stock Exchange occurred in 2005 when a new transaction system contained a bug, causing trading to be halted for almost 5 hours. Rumors that the bug was intentional are unfounded, with no supporting evidence. Despite this it was the worst interruption of trading in the history of the exchange.