Australian Stock Exchange - Sydney

Oceania's biggest stock exchange

The Australian Stock Exchange, or ASX, is responsible for operating Australia's primary stock exchange.

A stock exchange is defined as a corporation or mutual organization providing the platform for stock brokers to trade stocks, other securities and derivatives.

Serious Information

Trivia

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is the biggest stock exchange in Australia. The ASX orignated in separate state based exchanges established as early as 1871. Today trading is all-electronic and the exchange is a public company, listed on the exchange itself.

The Australian Stock Exchange Limited (ASX) was formed in 1987 through an amalgamation of six independent stock exchanges formerly operated in the state capital cities. Each of those exchanges had a history of share trading dating back to the nineteenth century.

All shares listed on ASX can only be bought or sold through a broker. A stockbroker acts as your agent to buy or sell shares on your behalf, for which a fee is charged. A broker can also provide a range of services including the provision of advice on which shares to buy or sell. Most stockbroking firms require you to provide funds prior to accepting your first order to buy shares.

Created in 1987 from merger of six regional markets
Listed on market in 1998
Domestic market capitalisation of A$975bn (as of June 2005)
around 1800 companies listed
ASX provides school students the opportunity to hypothetically invest $50,000 in the stock exchange, and track its progress over several months. It allows students to buy and sell normally using rates from current share prices.

A low exercise price option (LEPO) is a european style call option with a low exercise price of $0.01 and a contract size of 1000 shares to be delivered on exercise. LEPOs are traded on margin, and a trader may take a long or short position. Market makers ensure continuous price quotations.
http://www.asx.com.au/ The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) stock exchange website - contains much information such as share prices, history of stock exchange, and a very large amount educational work information. It contains info on whens to stock centre opens, so one can watch the clock tick tock.

In 2006 The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) announced plans to me. The deal will create the world's ninth-largest listed exchange, worth an estimated 5.3bn Australian dollars ($3.75bn; £2.14bn).

Under the deal, ASX will pay A$16.93 per SFE share - valuing the firm at A$2.29bn - and take a controlling 59.8% share in the merged company.

ASX said that it expects the deal to be earnings positive by 2008.

In 2005 Macquarie said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange on Monday that it was considering a bid for the London Stock Exchange which has long been seen as a possible takeover target.

Shares in no-frills airline Virgin Blue jumped by 9% on their first day on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2003.

Australia's main ASX index fell almost 1.3%,

The BBC when compiling a list of exotic futures noted that Wool is traded as a future on the Australian Stock Exchange. Other futures traded are:

Property Trusts Futures
Commodity Futures & Options

Grain Futures & Options
Wool Futures
Energy Futures

Electricity Futures

Warrants on the ASX are options over a company's shares issued by third parties. Issuers are usually investment banks or large stockbrokers. The issuer decides terms for an issue based on what it thinks market participants might be interested in buying. On exercise the warrant holder transacts directly with the issuer (there's no separate clearing house for that). Warrants come in the following types, suitable either as trading vehicles like options above, or as longer term investments.

Trading warrants: Calls or puts with various exercise style, expiry date, and contract size. Issuers assess market demand to decide what sets of terms they will offer.
Knockout warrants: Like trading warrants, but starting in-the-money and terminating if the share price touches the strike.
Installment warrants: Call options with a final additional payment to be made on exercise.
Endowment warrants: Call options with long-dated expiry and varying exercise price. The exercise price represents an outstanding amount to pay. It's reduced by dividends and increased by ongoing interest fees. The idea is the warrant holder pays say half the share price up front, and the dividends then pay off the rest over say 10 years. If the dividends pay off the balance sooner then the warrant holder receives fully paid shares at that time.
Perth mint gold: Call warrants of low exercise price over spot gold, issued by the Perth Mint. These work like an unleveraged long position in gold.

History

1871 The Sydney Stock Exchange formed.
1882 Hobart Stock Exchange formed.
1884 Brisbane Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Melbourne formed.
1887 The Stock Exchange of Adelaide formed.
1889 The Stock Exchange of Perth formed.
1896 Compulsory audit and annual presentation of financial statements is required following spectacular company failures in the land boom. Controls introduced by Victoria are regarded as strictest in British Empire.
1901 Federation of the colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia.
1903 First interstate stock exchange conference was held in Melbourne, at Melbourne Cup time. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide Stock Exchanges were represented.

Trivia
Multiplex, a company listed on the ASX have been employed to build the new Wembley stadium.

Why does everything in Australia have to end with a letter X? is it part of futuristic ideology.

In 1999 an Aussie airline company was terrified of the Y2K issue. "Qantas will only fly if it is safe to do so," the airline said in a Y2K report to the Australian Stock Exchange.

In Germany a sock exchange was set up on the internet for soccer.

In 2001 The Australian Stock Exchange Web site was dogged by technical glitches for the best part of a year, with no immediate relief in sight. An ASX spokesperson says the site has been experiencing problems since its re-launch in August 2000, as a result of an unanticipated increase in traffic. It claims the number of visitors has increased 30-40 percent, to over 7 million visitors per month.

Links on websites on subject

http://www.ise.ie/index.asp The home page of Irish stock exchange

http://www.nasdaq.com/ The homepage of the stock exchange

http://www.cityequities.com/
http://www.moneyweek.com

government_bond information

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