Frankfurt Stock Exchange

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Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse
Type	Stock Exchange
Location	Frankfurt, Germany
Coordinates	50°06′55″N 8°40′40″E / 50.11528°N 8.67778°E / 50.11528; 8.67778
Founded	1585
Owner	Deutsche Börse, Scoach Europa
MarketCap	US$ 4,7 trillion (dec 2010)
Website	www.boerse-frankfurt.de

Building in the center of Frankfurt

The bear and the bull in front of the Exchange

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (German: Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse, FWB) is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. Located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is owned and operated by Deutsche Börse, which also owns the European futures exchange Eurex and the clearing company Clearstream.

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange accounts for over 90 percent of the turnover in the German market and a very large share of the European market. In 2010, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange agreed to move to abolish floor trading and completed this transition in May 2011.^[1] Today, trading takes place exclusively via the Xetra system, with redundant floor brokers taking on the role of market-makers on the new platform.

More than 14 international exchanges have adopted Xetra (including the Vienna Stock Exchange in 1999, the Irish Stock Exchange in 2000 and the Budapest Stock Exchange in 2003). Approximately 47% of the 300 market participants in Frankfurt come from abroad. As of November, 2010, companies from more than 80 countries list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with 49% from North and South America. 31% from Europe (including Russia), 14% from Asia and 6% from Australia and Africa.

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange has more than 250 international trading institutions and more than 4,500 traders. Investors directly connected to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange represent 35% of the world's investment capital.

The trading indices in Frankfurt are DAX, DAXplus, CDAX, DivDAX, LDAX, MDAX, SDAX, TecDAX, VDAX and EuroStoxx 50.

Automatic Xetra trading runs from 09:00 to 17:30 with closing auction from 17:30-17:35, floor brokers' trading times are from 8:00 to 20:00. In November 2003, Late DAX was introduced running from 17:45 to 20:00 and in 2006 X-DAX was introduced running from 17:45-22:00 (in line with US trading hours).

History

The origins of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange go back to the 9th century and a free letter by Emperor Louis the German to hold free trade fairs. By the 16th century Frankfurt developed into a wealthy and busy city with an economy based on trade and financial services.

Frankfurt Stock Exchange floor

In 1585 a bourse was established to set up fixed currency exchange rates. During the following centuries Frankfurt developed into one of the world's first stock exchanges - next to London and Paris. Bankers like Mayer Amschel Rothschild and Max Warburg had substantial influence on Frankfurt's financial trade.

In 1874 Frankfurt Stock Exchange moved into its new building at Börsenplatz.

It was only in 1949 after World War II that the Frankfurt Stock Exchange finally established as the leading stock exchange in Germany with consequently incoming national and international investments.

During the 1990s the Frankfurt Stock Exchange was also bourse for the Neuer Markt (German for New Market) as part of the world wide dot-com boom.

In 1993 the Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (Frankfurt Stock Exchange) became Deutsche Börse AG, operating businesses for the exchange.

From the early 1960s onwards the Frankfurt Stock Exchange took advantage of the close by Bundesbank which effectively decided on financial policies in Europe until the introduction of the euro in 2002. Since then the exchange profits from the presence of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt am Main.

In 2002 and 2004 Deutsche Börse was in advanced negotiations to take over London Stock Exchange, which were broken off in 2005.^[2]

References

Further reading

• Financial Market Integration in a Wider European Union
• International financial centres: rivals or partner?
• Assessment on Frankfurt's failed take-over of LSE

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Frankfurt Stock Exchange

• Frankfurt Stock Exchange - Website for investors
• Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE), Brussels

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