The Australian Securities Exchange known as the ASX is Australia’s largest stock exchange and is currently in the top ten largest exchanges in the world when measured by market capitalization which is AUD$2.3 trillion as of June 2022. The company was founded in Sydney on April 1st, 1987 as the Australian Stock Exchange.
Under government legislation, all the stock exchanges operating in each state’s capital cities were combined to form the ASX. The ASX was first listed in October 1998 and eventually merged with the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006 to form the Australian Securities Exchange. The business structure has four divisions: Listings, Markets, Technology and Data, and Securities and Payments. The current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer is Dominic Stevens who was appointed to the role in August of 2016. The ASX has an average daily turnover of over AUD$5 billion.
The history of the ASX
If you are interested in investing in Australian stocks, then getting to know as much information about the ASX as possible is most important. The ASX story begins in the early 1800s in the then-colony of New South Wales, with the formation of The Bank of New South Wales in 1817. This was the first company founded in NSW and is still operating today as the Westpac Banking Corporation. This company was one of the first listed on the Sydney Stock Exchange which was created in 1871. Rules were set up to make sure stockbrokers were operating legally and morally with customers.
The 1880s saw a rise in new stock exchanges all around Australia including the Hobart Stock Exchange in 1882, the Brisbane Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Melbourne in 1884, the Stock Exchange of Adelaide in 1887, and the Stock Exchange of Perth in 1889. Over the next 100 years, more and more companies began trading in the various stock exchanges until their merging in 1987. There are now more than 2200 companies listed on the ASX, with more companies listing daily. This includes international companies.
The ASX today
The ASX 200 share market index is used to monitor the 200 largest of these companies and uses the share price information to find out how the companies are performing. The ASX also has extensive market supervision to make sure the listed companies are complying with the rules and regulations. ASX also provides market information to outside vendors such as banks, and software developers who can then make informed decisions on how to work with their customers.
There are two main trading platforms of the ASX. The ASX Trade is a cash market trading platform that enables the trading of ASX equity securities, exchange-traded funds, warrants, and Australian Government bonds. The second platform is ASX Trade24, which is for securities trading. It allows customers to see what is listed on the ASX 24 market and it includes Interest rate futures options, equity securities trading Energy futures and options, and Agricultural futures and options.
conclusion
The ASX trades on weekdays, 10am to 4pm, and does not trade on public holidays. Their financial year ends in June and they send out financial results every half-year. The half-year ending December 2021 saw some record results with operating revenue up 6% to AUD$501.4 million. Net profit was up 3.5%, rising by AUD$8.5 million to AUD$250.3 million. EBIT (Earnings Before Taxes) was also up a record 6%, rising by AUD$19.3 million to AUD$338.4 million. Hopefully, these trends will continue so investors can also reap the rewards.
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