DEFINITION of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is the first and largest securities market in India and was established in 1875 as the Native Share and Stock Brokers' Association. Based in Mumbai, India, the BSE lists close to 6,000 companies and is one of the largest exchanges in the world, along with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange Group, Japan Exchange Group, and Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The BSE has helped develop the country's capital markets, including the retail debt market, and helped grow the Indian corporate sector.

BREAKING DOWN Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

In 1995, the BSE switched from an open-floor to an electronic trading system. There are more than a dozen electronic exchanges in the U.S. alone with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq being the most widely known. Today electronic systems dominates the financial industry overall, offering fewer errors, faster execution and better efficiency than traditional open-outcry trading systems.

Securities that the BSE lists includes stocks, stock futures, stock options, index futures, index options and weekly options. The BSE's overall performance is measured by the Sensex, an index of 30 of the BSE's largest stocks covering 12 sectors.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and Other Major International Stock Exchanges

In addition to the BSE major international stock exchanges include:

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). NYSE is considered the largest equities-based exchange in the world, based on the total market capitalization of its listed securities. NYSE was formerly a private organization but became public in 2005 after it acquired the electronic trading exchange Archipelago.

Nasdaq. This is a global electronic marketplace and the benchmark index for U.S. technology stocks. National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) created Nasdaq in 1971 to enable investors to trade securities on a rapid, computerized, and transparent system. Today “Nasdaq” also refers to the Nasdaq Composite, an index of more than 3,000 listed technology that include Apple, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, Intel and Amgen.

London Stock Exchange (LSE). The primary U.K. stock exchange and largest in Europe, LSE developed after several regional exchanges merged in 1973. LSE was first called the Stock Exchange of Great Britain and Ireland. 100 of the top blue chips on the LSE form the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 Share Index, or "Footsie."

Other major international stock exchanges in Asia include the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange.