ASX

Welcome to ASX History and Links

So what is the ASX and how does it work?

Well put simply it stands for Australian Stock Exchange or Australian Securities Exchange and is the place where buyers and sellers of shares or stocks come to market to buy or sell their goods. Just think of it like a conventional market where everyone comes to buy or sell. The only difference is that instead of cabbage and lettuce they bring certificates of share ownership.

Some of the largest companies traded on the ASX in terms of their share capitalisation, include the following companies Rio Tinto, National Australia Bank, ANZ Bank, Westpac Bank, Commonwealth Bank, Telstra and BHP Billiton, . In 2006 the three largest market sectors by were financial services (34%), commodities (20%) and listed property trusts (10%).

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There are a number of indexes which make up the stock exchange however the benchmark index which is most widely followed these days is the S&P ASX 200. It is a collection of 200 companies and is monitored by Standard and Poors. This is now much more widely watched than the All Ordinaries index, which used to be the main index on the ASX. They are both commonly quoted together. Some of the other indices also include the ASX 100 and the ASX 50

The ASX itself is a publicly listed company and is itself listed on the ASX.Because of this conflict of interest they are governed by ASIC even though they are normally the ones doing all the governing.

The current managing director of the ASX who was appointed in 2006 is Robert Elstone.

In 2006 a new computer generated ordering system was introduced to take over the old but reliable SEATS system. The new system was called Click XT and is also known as the ITS or intergrated trading system. The latest system is far mor capable than the old SEATS system and can process multiple orders per transaction. It is also much faster and can process more transactions per second.

There are a number of large player brokers that dominate the market. They include power houses such as Macquarie Bank, Goldman Sachs, JB Were, ABN Amro and commsec to name a few.

Please remember this site is not the ASX. It is just information on the ASX. If you would like more information on the ASX or would like to go to their site please click the following link www.asx.com.au