EURONEXT introduced
Formerly known as NYSE Euronext, this is a central exchange for derivatives and securities for both the United States and Western Europe. It was established in 2000 when the Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris Exchanges merged; the group later expanded to include the Lisbon and London International Financial Futures Exchange. Euronext was bought by the NYSE in 2007, marking the first-ever transcontinental exchange merger.
There are more than one thousand four hundred companies in thirty-five countries trading on the Euronext, working on an electronic trading system based on common trading and market rules. The exchange handles all transaction settlement matters. The Euronext trades in ETFs, equities, closed-end funds, certificates, warrants and bonds.
Despite all the attempts at consolidation, the NYSE Euronext is not a global exchange. There are companies from China, Japan and Brazil trading on the exchange, but the same can be said of Europe's other major exchanges. As Italy's Borsa Italiana was bought by the NYSE in 2007, that exchange became the center of the European financial market. Countries such as Germany and Spain conduct a lot of their trading through smaller, more private exchanges.