
Euronext: what is it and what do you need to know?
If you are involved in investing, chances are you have heard of the pan-European stock exchange Euronext. But what exactly is Euronext and what is its history? You can read all about it in this blog.
History of Euronext
In 2000, a merger was agreed between the stock exchanges of Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. This merger of stock exchanges led to the creation of Euronext. It was an important step towards the formation of a European Monetary Union. Other stock exchanges joined later. These are the stock exchanges of Dublin, Lisbon, London and Oslo.
Euronext was supposed to grow into the stock exchange company of Europe. In 2007, everything seemed to change when Euronext was taken over by the well-known New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This takeover led to the creation of the NYSE Euronext. However, the existence of the NYSE Euronext did not last very long, as Euronext was sold off in 2013. Since 2013, Euronext has been independent (again).
Euronext Features
Euronext’s main function is to facilitate the trading of securities and derivatives from different countries. In addition, it provides current price information to different parties.
stock trading
Euronext facilitates the trade in securities and derivatives. This means that Euronext makes it possible for investors to trade in such investment products. Securities and derivatives are understood to mean various specific investment products. ‘Securities’ refers to shares and ETFs, but also to indices, bonds and funds. When you talk about derivatives, you are talking about derivative products, such as futures and options .
Anyone who thinks that Euronext only offers passive investment products is not entirely correct. Euronext also offers self-composed products. You could think of the Euronext 100 – a bundle of the 100 largest funds. The Next 150 also exists on the same principle.
What is special is that Euronext itself also has shares. In 2014, it went public through a so-called Initial Public Offering (better known as IPO). Euronext shares are listed on the stock exchanges of Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. You can recognize it by the ticker ENX and it is seen as a full-fledged dividend share .

Course information
As already discussed, Euronext does not exist solely to facilitate securities trading. Providing stock market or price information is another function. Experts are deployed to set up analyses that are then sold to – for example – media channels. So there is also a certain revenue model behind Euronext.
Classification by market capitalization
Euronext uses a classification by market capitalization . Below you will find a brief explanation of how this classification is designed by Euronext.
- Large cap: market capitalization of €1 billion or more.
- Mid cap: market capitalization from €250 million to €1 billion.
- Small cap: market capitalization of €250 million or less.
The opening hours
Euronext is in principle open every trading day from 9:00 to 17:30. This applies in any case to shares, ETFs and ETPs. The options market opens one minute later, at 9:01. Leveraged products are also generally opened a little later, at 9:05. However, the opening hours for the latter category may differ per provider. It is advisable to consult the Euronext website for the most recent opening hours (and exceptions).
Getting started on the stock exchange
Do you want to start investing on the stock exchange? Then a broker can offer you the possibility to execute your own orders on the stock exchange via a trading platform. View all brokers and start investing today.
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