what is the nasdaq 
nasdaq is a global electronic marketplace for buying and selling securities its name was originally an acronym for the national association of securities dealers automated quotations nasdaq started as a subsidiary of the national association of securities dealers nasd now known as the financial industry regulatory authority finra nasdaq was launched after the securities and exchange commission sec urged nasd to automate the market for securities not listed on an exchange the result was the first electronic trading system nasdaq opened for business in 1971 investopedia theresa chiechiunderstanding the nasdaqas noted above the nasdaq is a stock exchange headquartered in new york it began as a subsidiary of the nasd and officially opened for business on feb 8 1971 it was the world s first automated stock exchange nasdaq officially separated from the nasd and began to operate as a national securities exchange in 2006 in 2008 it combined with the scandinavian exchanges group omx to become the nasdaq omx group the company changed its name to nasdaq inc in 2015 there are more than 5 000 companies that are listed and traded on the exchange on a daily basis many of these companies are major technology companies such as apple aapl and microsoft msft since 2006 the nasdaq has consisted of three tiers the nasdaq global select market the nasdaq global market and the nasdaq capital market the exchange operates 29 markets enabling the trading of stocks derivatives fixed income and commodities in the u s canada scandinavia and the baltics the company also runs a clearinghouse and five central securities depositories in the united states and europe its trading technology is used by 100 exchanges in 50 countries nasdaq compositethe term nasdaq is also used to refer to the nasdaq composite this is an index of more than 2 500 stocks listed on the nasdaq exchange this index includes some of the major technology giants such as the nasdaq composite closed at a record high of 16 057 44 on nov 19 2021 the index proceeded to drop more than 23 from that point through april 2022 the nasdaq composite s 13 3 decline in april 2022 was its worst monthly drop since october 2008 when the index lost 17 4 amid the global financial crisis it closed at 13 787 92 on june 30 2023 nasdaq inc is listed on the nasdaq stock market under the symbol ndaq and has been part of the s p 500 index since 2008 nasdaq trading systemthe nasdaq computerized trading system was initially devised as an alternative to the inefficient specialist system which was the prevalent model for almost a century the rapid evolution of technology has made nasdaq s electronic trading model the standard for markets worldwide it was only fitting for the world s up and coming technology companies to list on an exchange using the latest technology as the tech sector grew in prominence in the 1980s and 1990s the nasdaq composite index became its most widely quoted proxy that turned nasdaq composite into the index of the dot com boom and bust after rallying nearly 150 in the 16 months through march 2000 the nasdaq composite then slumped almost 80 by october 2002 history of the nasdaqin november 2016 chief operating officer coo adena friedman was promoted to the role of chief executive officer ceo becoming the first woman to run a major exchange in the united states on dec 1 2020 nasdaq proposed a new rule requiring companies listed on the exchange to report on the diversity of their board of directors the rule requires companies to include on their boards at least one female director and one who is a member of an underrepresented minority or lgbtq or to publicly explain why they have not done so the sec approved the board diversity disclosure rule on aug 6 2021 nasdaq generates revenue from clients including financial institutions brokers institutional investors and corporations nasdaq s revenue is mainly derived from fees charged for the following nasdaq reported total net income of 1 12 billion on total revenue of 6 23 billion for the 2022 fiscal year ending dec 31 2022 revenue less transaction based expenses came in at 3 58 billion the company also increased the quarterly dividend per common share to 0 78 in 2022 from 0 70 in 2021 