Nasdaq Helsinki facts for kids

Nasdaq Helsinki is the main stock exchange in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. Think of it as a big, organized market where people can buy and sell small pieces of companies. These pieces are called stocks or shares.

For a long time, it was known as the Helsinki Stock Exchange. In 2003, it joined a larger group of stock exchanges called Nasdaq Nordic. Today, it's owned by the American company Nasdaq, Inc., which runs many stock markets around the world.

History of the Exchange

The Helsinki Stock Exchange has a long and interesting history. It has changed a lot over the years, from a small local market to a modern, digital part of a global company.

Early Days

A record from the very first day of trading at the Helsinki Stock Exchange on October 7, 1912.

A share certificate from 1916. It shows the stock exchange building, designed by the famous architect Lars Sonck.

The very first trade at the exchange happened on October 7, 1912. For many decades, it was a "free form" group. In 1984, it became a cooperative, which is a type of organization owned and run by its members, like banks and trading companies.

Going Digital

Stock brokers trading in the exchange hall in 1982, before everything went digital.

An old trading machine used before modern computers. This one was used from 1935 until 1990.

For many years, trading was done in person in a large room called a trading room. People would shout orders and use special machines to buy and sell stocks.

Everything changed on April 1, 1990. The exchange switched to a new digital system called HETI. This computer system allowed traders to buy and sell stocks from their own offices. They no longer had to be physically present in the trading hall. This made trading faster and easier for everyone.

Joining a Bigger Family

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Helsinki Stock Exchange went through many changes. It became a regular company and joined with other Finnish financial companies. It also bought the stock exchanges in Tallinn, Estonia, and Riga, Latvia.

A huge step happened on September 3, 2003. The company, then called HEX, merged with OM AB, the owner of the Stockholm Stock Exchange in Sweden. This new, bigger company was called OMX.

Later, in 2008, the American company NASDAQ bought OMX. This is why the Helsinki Stock Exchange is now called Nasdaq Helsinki. It is part of a large network of exchanges in the Nordic and Baltic countries.

How is the Market Doing?

To quickly see how the stock market in Helsinki is performing, people look at the OMX Helsinki 25 (or OMXH25). This is a list, or index, that tracks the 25 most-traded companies on Nasdaq Helsinki.

If the OMXH25 number is going up, it usually means that the biggest companies in Finland are doing well. If it's going down, it might mean their business is slowing down. It's like a scoreboard for the Finnish economy.

Trading Hours

The exchange is open for trading from 10:00 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening, Monday through Friday. It is closed on weekends and on public holidays.

See also

In Spanish: Bolsa de Helsinki para niños

Other Nasdaq Stock Markets

• Nasdaq Copenhagen
• Nasdaq Stockholm
• Nasdaq Nordic
• Nasdaq Vilnius
• Nasdaq Riga
• Nasdaq Tallinn
• Nasdaq Iceland
• Nasdaq First North

Other Lists

• List of Finnish companies
• List of Ålandic companies