SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly SWX Swiss Exchange), based in Zurich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange (the other being Berne eXchange). SIX Swiss Exchange also trades other securities such as Swiss government bonds and derivatives such as stock options.
The main stock market index for the SIX Swiss Exchange is the blue-chip index, the SMI, or Swiss Market Index. The index consists of the 20 most significant and most liquid large and mid-cap SPI equity-securities based on the free float market capitalisation.
SIX Swiss Exchange was the first stock exchange in the world to incorporate a fully automated trading, clearing and settlement system in 1995. The exchange is controlled by an association of 55 banks. Each of these banks has equal voting rights in the matter of decision making concerning the management and regulation of the exchange.
SIX Swiss Exchange is the joint owner of Eurex, the world's 2nd largest futures and derivatives exchange, after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, along with their German partners Deutsche Börse. In July 2004 however SIX Swiss Exchange rejected a merger proposal from the German company, that analysts anticipated as profitable for many small companies listed on SIX Swiss Exchange.
History
- Replacement of floor trading systems at Geneva (est. 1850), Basel (est. 1866) and Zurich (est. 1873) stock exchanges by fully automated system SWX (1995)
- World's first fully automated trading, clearing and settlement system (est.1995)
- Since 2007 Deutsche Börse and SIX Swiss Exchange have operated the joint venture Scoach to provide a derivatives trading platform
- Purchased virt-x cross-border electronic exchange in 2002, which it later renamed SWX Europe.
- Was renamed SIX Swiss Exchange in 2008
- Merged with SIS Group and Telekurs Group in 2008 to form SIX Group.
Hours
The exchange's normal trading sessions are from 09:00 to 17:30 on all days of the week except Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays declared by the Exchange in advance.
Other services
SIX Swiss Exchange is part of the SIX Group, which provides a number of other financial infrastructure services in Switzerland. These include clearing, acting as central counterparty, custody services, market data services, share registry, payment services and running the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system on behalf of the central bank of Switzerland the Swiss National Bank.
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