NASDAQ: Facts You Need to Know

If you are interested in stock listing and prefer to check some stock portfolios time and again online, you might have heard about three main market measures: S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite. Most of the investors are more familiar with Dow and many others are connected to the S&P 500 because the index funds available on this platform are widely used. Now, it is time to know more about Nasdaq � It may be followed by very fewer people around the world, but in actual, it is slowly growing to be the second-largest stock exchange after NYSE.�

For those who are not familiar with this name, it might be an interesting thing to know that this platform was originally established in the year 1971. The short form NASDAQ basically represents the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. This innovation helped investors to find more efficient ways of stock trading online. A few decades ago, the trades were completed in-person; but NASDAQ gave the concept of computerized trading that can work in an automated manner. It utilized telephones and computer bulletin boards at that time.�

With time, Nasdaq purchased a few other exchanges such as the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and Boston Stock Exchange. It is good to know that Philadelphia was the oldest exchange of the country; it was established two years before NYSE; hence, the Nasdaq became able to trace its roots up to the 1790s. The advanced technologies and user-friendly interface made this platform a preferred choice for youngsters and other growing companies. The biggest reason behind its popularity was that this platform used to charge a lesser fee as compared to other exchanges.�

At present, Nasdaq has become one of the largest electronic stock markets that cover the highest trading volume when compared to many other U.S. exchanges. It has more than 3000 company listings and the totaled value is somewhere around $11 trillion. The biggest brand on Nasdaq is also rated as the biggest brand in the entire world, and that is Apple. Its present market value is $800 billion.�

Only a few people are aware of the fact that Nasdaq is primarily a public traded platform. The headquarter is located in New York City and it is managed and controlled by the CEO Adena Friedman. With 0.62 beta value, it reflects the volatility rate of lower than average. At present, the price-to-earnings, as well as the price to sales ratio for this platform, are observed to be above the five-year average.�

It is important to mention that Nasdaq is basically a stock market; it should not be mistaken with a stock index. However, it clearly doesn�t mean that there are no focused indices for Nasdaq. The main index of Nasdaq is Nasdaq Composite and it shows 3000 plus components of the entire Nasdaq stock market. Whenever someone says that Nasdaq fell or rose by certain points, they are basically referring to Nasdaq Composite. This stock index represents the potential technology sector of the United States economy.�