The NASDAQ (acronym of National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotient) is an American stock exchange. It is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the United States. With approximately 3,200 companies, it lists more companies and on average trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market.

It was founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), who divested themselves of it in a series of sales in 2000 and 2001. It is owned and operated by the NASDAQ OMX Group, the stock of which was listed on its own stock exchange in 2002, and is monitored by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

With the completed purchase of the Nordic-based operated exchange OMX, following its agreement with Borse Dubai, NASDAQ is poised to capture 67% of the controlling stake in the aforementioned exchange, thereby inching ever closer to taking over the company and creating a trans-atlantic powerhouse. Nasdaq-OMX group as it's now known now controls and operates the NASDAQ stock market in NYC, which is the second largest in the US; in addition, it now operates eight stock exchanges in Europe and also holds 33.3% of the Dubai Stock Exchange. It has a double-listing agreement with OMX, which will render it more effective than the NYSE-Euronext group in attracting new listings.