Nasdaq Stock Market
The world’s first fully electronic stock market and the second largest by market capitalisation. Nasdaq operates as a dealer market in which competing market makers post bids and offers electronically. It is strongly associated with technology, biotechnology and high-growth companies, and offers tiered listing standards from the Capital Market up to the Global Select Market.
- Location
- One Liberty Plaza, New York, United States
- Trading currency
- US dollar (USD)
- Trading hours
- 09:30 to 16:00, Monday to Friday
- Trading days
- Monday to Friday, excluding Nasdaq holidays
- Time zone
- Eastern Time (UTC−5, UTC−4 in daylight saving)
- Market capitalisation
- Approximately USD 27 trillion (2025)
- Listed companies
- Approximately 4,000 (2025)
- Settlement
- T+1, cleared through the National Securities Clearing Corporation and settled at The Depository Trust Company.
Top performing companies today
Ranked by the current session’s percentage move, strongest first, from the companies this platform covers on this venue.
Retrieving current-day prices for the companies covered on this venue…
What trades here
Major indices
- Nasdaq Composite
- Nasdaq-100
Major listed companies
- Apple
- Microsoft
- NVIDIA
- Alphabet
- Amazon
- Meta Platforms
- Tesla
Major sectors
- Technology
- Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals
- Communication services
- Consumer discretionary
How the market works
Market structure
A fully electronic dealer market: competing market makers post two-sided quotes into a central order book, with no physical floor. Three listing tiers — the Global Select Market, the Global Market and the Capital Market — apply progressively lighter financial and governance standards, so a smaller company can list on the Capital Market and step up.
Trading mechanisms
Opening and closing crosses at 09:30 and 16:00 around continuous electronic trading, with pre-market from 04:00 and after-hours to 20:00. The same market-wide circuit breakers and limit up-limit down bands apply as on the NYSE.
Listing requirements
The Capital Market tier requires, on one of its standards, USD 5 million stockholders' equity, a USD 4.00 minimum bid price, 1 million publicly held shares and 300 round-lot holders. The Global Select tier applies materially higher earnings, cash-flow or market-value tests. All tiers require an independent audit committee and a majority-independent board.
Settlement
T+1, cleared through the National Securities Clearing Corporation and settled at The Depository Trust Company.
Regulatory authority
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Brokers are additionally members of FINRA and SIPC.
How to invest in this market
What it takes to open an account and deal on NASDAQ, separated by where you live — the two answers are rarely the same, and on some markets they are not even the same process.
Domestic investors
Residents of United States
Identical to the NYSE in practice: one brokerage account reaches both venues, and your broker routes the order. Nothing separate is required to trade Nasdaq-listed shares.
- A brokerage account with an SEC-registered, FINRA-member broker-dealer.
- Identity verification and a Social Security number or ITIN; Form W-9 for tax certification.
- No minimum for a cash account; USD 2,000 for margin and USD 25,000 for pattern day trading.
- Tax: dividends and realised gains reported on Forms 1099-DIV and 1099-B.
Foreign investors
Open to foreign investors
Open to non-residents on the same terms as the NYSE. Many of the world's most widely held technology shares are Nasdaq-listed, and most international brokers offer them.
- A US broker that accepts non-resident aliens, or a local broker offering US market access.
- Passport, proof of address and a completed Form W-8BEN (renewed every three years).
- Tax: 30% US withholding on dividends, reduced by treaty where one applies. Capital gains on listed shares are generally outside the US net for non-residents but taxable in your country of residence.
- Consider the US estate-tax exposure that comes with holding US-situs securities directly.
Foreign ownership limits
No general foreign-ownership limit on listed shares.
Currency considerations
Quoted and settled in US dollars; conversion cost is set by your broker, not the exchange.
Regulated routes to an account
Licensed intermediaries and official exchange platforms, listed to show the regulated routes into this market. This is not a recommendation and not an exhaustive list — check any firm against the regulator’s register before opening an account.
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Why this market matters
Why investors follow it
The Nasdaq-100 is the reference benchmark for global technology and growth investing, so its direction drives sentiment far beyond the United States. Its concentration in a small number of very large technology companies also makes it a useful gauge of how much of the market’s return is coming from that theme.
Interesting facts
- When it launched in 1971 it was purely a quotation system — it displayed prices but did not execute trades.
- The Nasdaq-100 excludes financial companies by design, which is why its sector mix differs sharply from the S&P 500.
- Its tiered listing standards let smaller companies list on the Capital Market tier and step up as they grow.
Official sources