Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)

With 1,515 companies listed and total market capitalization of billion, the Australian Stock Exchange was the eighth largest exchange in the world at the end of 2004. Although it is one of the newer exchanges, it has shown significant growth over the last fifteen years.
The Australian Stock Exchange is a fully electronic exchange, using SEATS (Stock Exchange Automated Trading System) for the trading of stocks, warrants, fixed-interest securities, and company-issued options and rights. Under this system, trade orders can be placed online through a broker and when a buy and sell match, the order is automatically executed.
The most popular index for the Australian Stock Exchange is the S&P ASX 200, made up of the 200 top shares on the exchange. Some of the other popular indices are the S&P ASX 300 for a broader view of the exchange's performance, and the S&P ASX 20, which is made up of 20 ASX stocks with the highest market capitalization.