New York Stock Exchange in New York City, US, is the largest stock exchange in the world. Nasdaq in New York City, US, is the second-largest stock exchange in the world. Shanghai Stock Exchange in Shanghai, China, is the third-largest stock exchange in the world.
The NYSE is the largest equities exchange in the world by market capitalization but has fewer listed companies than Nasdaq. However, while having fewer listed companies than Nasdaq, 70% of the companies included in the S&P 500 were listed on the NYSE as of May 2025.
What Are Stock Market Indicies? (S&P 500, Dow Jones, & NASDAQ Explained)
Who owns 93% of the stock market?
The wealthiest 10% of U.S. households own approximately 93% of the stock market's value, a record concentration of wealth, with the top 1% holding over half of all stocks. This ownership is concentrated among the richest Americans, while the bottom half of households own a very small fraction, illustrating significant wealth inequality in stock market participation.
The Dow tracks 30 large U.S. companies but has limited representation. The Nasdaq indexes, associated with the Nasdaq exchange, focus more heavily on tech and other stocks. The S&P 500, with about 500 large U.S. companies, offers a more comprehensive market view, weighted by market capitalization.
New York Stock Exchange in New York City, US, is the largest stock exchange in the world. Nasdaq in New York City, US, is the second-largest stock exchange in the world. Shanghai Stock Exchange in Shanghai, China, is the third-largest stock exchange in the world.
A 2019 study by Harvard Business Review found either Vanguard, BlackRock or State Street is the largest listed owner of 88% of S&P 500 companies. There is a perception that a few select companies own a vast majority of the stock market.
Another reason for switching could be that a company is looking for lower listing fees. The NYSE has higher, typically has higher listing fees than the Nasdaq. The Nasdaq's lower fee structure is usually beneficial to startups while the NYSE attracts more established companies that are less concerned with the fees.
NYSE Euronext was created from a merger between the NYSE and Euronext in 2007. Nasdaq, a fully electronic exchange, hosts major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon. The American Stock Exchange (AMEX) was known for focusing on exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The Magnificent Seven stocks are a group of high-performing and influential companies in the U.S. stock market: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Bank of America analyst Michael Hartnett used the film name in 2023 when commenting on the seven highest-performing tech firms.
NSE (National Stock Exchange) is India's largest stock exchange, while BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) is Asia's oldest. NSE sees significantly higher trading volumes than BSE.
On March 19, 2015, Apple Inc. replaced AT&T, which had been a component of the DJIA since November 1916. Apple became the fourth company traded on the NASDAQ to be part of the Dow. On September 1, 2017, DowDuPont replaced DuPont. DowDuPont was formed by the merger of Dow Chemical Company with DuPont.
The S&P 500 is considered more comprehensive because it includes a broader range of American companies. The DJIA is price-weighted, meaning higher-priced stocks have more influence on the index. The S&P 500 is weighted by market capitalization, balancing the index based on company size.
That's because more investors are picking between winners and losers on the index—and many of the losers are the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, a cohort that includes Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. The market as a whole is up 1.73% year-to-date.
Due to the fact that the S&P 500 is a market-cap-weighted index, the performance of mega cap companies such as Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft, all valued above or just under $4 trillion, is particularly important to its overall performance.
The historical average yearly return of the S&P 500 is 9.463% over the last 150 years, as of the end of December 2025. This assumes dividends are reinvested. Adjusted for inflation, the 150-year average stock market return (including dividends) is 7.018%.
What if I invested $1000 in Coca-Cola 30 years ago?
A $1,000 investment in Coca-Cola 30 years ago would have grown to around $9,030 today. KO data by YCharts. This is primarily not because of the stock, which would be worth around $4,270. The remaining $4,760 comes from cumulative dividend payments over the last 30 years.
NVIDIA is the largest company in the world, with a market cap of $4.56 trillion. NVIDIA is followed by Apple ($3.95 trillion), Alphabet ($3.83 trillion), Microsoft ($3.53 trillion), and Amazon ($2.49 trillion).
The "Buffett Rule 70/30" isn't one single rule but refers to different concepts: it can mean investing 70% in stocks and 30% in "workouts" (special situations like mergers) as he did in 1957, or it's a popular guideline for personal finance to save 70% and spend 30% for rapid wealth building. It's also confused with the general guideline of 100 minus your age for stock/bond allocation (e.g., 70% stocks if 30 years old).
