The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is based in Sydney and is the first major market to open in the world each day. Sydney’s time zone offers companies the unique opportunity to take advantage of the full trading day in Asia while also bridging the closing of the American markets and the opening of the European markets. This allows global financial services firms to provide after-hours coverage for their United States and European markets from Australia in a ‘follow-the-sun’ system.

The ASX is the 12th largest stock exchange in the world according to the World Federation of Exchanges. As at December 2008, the market capitalisation of shares of domestic companies on the ASX was close to US$700 billion, the fourth largest in the Asia Pacific region. In terms of float capital or share capital freely available to investors, the ASX is the eighth largest in the world according to Standard & Poor’s World by Numbers, April 2009. Australia also had the third highest number of listed domestic companies in the Asia Pacific, more than the combined total of Hong Kong SAR and Singapore stock exchanges.

In 2008, the number of trades in equity shares on the ASX increased by 61% compared with the previous year, to 106 million or an average of 8.8 million per month. The turnover value of equities on the ASX was around A$1.5 trillion, with an average daily turnover of A$5.7 billion. These figures demonstrate the depth and liquidity of the Australian share market and reinforce Sydney’s credentials as a centre for global finance.