London Stock Exchange

About the London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is the largest stock exchange in Europe, and the 4th largest exchange worldwide. With an estimated market cap of US $3.6 trillion in December 2010, and almost 3000 listings, it’s no wonder it is considered such. The London Exchange has a high quality reputation, regularly trading in over US $1.7 in securities. It is located in Paternoster Square near St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London. The London Stock Exchange is an ideal exchange for those seeking trades in covered warrants, debts, ETFs (exchange traded funds), reits, fixed interests and many other securities. It also offers derivatives and information services.

The LSE was founded in 1801 and throughout the years has seen many changes, including an addition of a noble coat of arms in 1923, as well as the closing of one of the men’s restrooms due to an IRA bombing in 1992. NASDAQ attempted to merge with the LSE between the years of 2005-2007, but abandoned its takeover attempt after repeated rejections by LSE shareholders.
Technologically, the LSE trading platform is currently built on Linux. Moving from the original Microsoft .NET framework that managed it from 2009 was finished in February of 2011. In October 2010, the LSE’s trading platform broke the record for trade speeds after a trade that occurred in 126 microseconds was recorded on the platform.

London Stock Exchange Hours

The LSE has normal trading hours between 8:00-16:30 GMT, with pre market trade reporting occurring at 7:15-7:50 and order maintenance and post market trade reporting done between 16:35-17:15.

London Stock Exchange Holidays

The London Stock Exchange is open weekdays with the exception of the following holidays:

New Year’s Day-January 3rd
Good Friday- April 22nd
Easter Monday- April 25th
Spring Holiday- May 30th
Summer Holidya- August 29th
Christmas- December 26th
Boxing Day- December 27th