The Nasdaq is a global electronic marketplace for buying and selling securities. Nasdaq was created by the National Association of Securities Dealers to enable investors trade securities on a computerized, speedy and transparent system. It commenced operations on February 8, 1971. The term, “Nasdaq” is also used to refer to the Nasdaq Composite, which is an index of more than 3,000 stocks listed on the Nasdaq exchange. The stocks include biotech giants such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, and Intel. Nasdaq officially separated from the NASD and began to operate as a national securities exchange in 2006. In 2007, it combined with the Scandinavian exchange group OMX to become the Nasdaq OMX group, which is the largest exchange company globally, powering 1 in 10 of the world’s securities transactions. The Nasdaq OMX has its headquarters in New York, where it operates 25 markets which include primarily equities, as well as options, such as fixed income, derivatives and commodities. It also operates one clearinghouse and five central securities depositories in the United States and Europe. The Nasdaq's cutting-edge trading technology is used by 70 exchanges in 50 countries. It is listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol NDAQ and has been part of the S&P 500 since 2008. The Nasdaq computerized trading system was initially devised as an alternative to the “specialist” system, which had been the prevalent model for almost a century. The rapid evolution of technology has made the Nasdaq’s electronic trading model the standard for markets worldwide. The index crossed the 1,000 mark for the first time in July 1995, soared in the following years and peaked at over 4,500 in March 2000, before slumping almost 80% by October 2002 in the subsequent correction. Nasdaq achieved its highest-ever close on August 29, 2018, when its index peaked at 8109.69 points. In 2018, it was announced that the Nasdaq was planning to introduce cryptocurrency futures in conjunction with a prominent investment firm. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app