The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London in the United Kingdom. As of December 2011, the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.266 trillion (short scale), making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement (and the largest in Europe)The Exchange was founded in 1801 and its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cathedralin the City of London. The Exchange is part of the London Stock Exchange Group.The Royal Exchange had been founded by Thomas Gresham on the model of the Antwerp Bourse, as a stock exchange. It was opened by Elizabeth I in 1571.During the 17th century, stockbrokers were not allowed in the Royal Exchange due to their rude manners. They had to operate from other establishments in the vicinity, notably Jonathan's Coffee-House. At that coffee house, a broker named John Casting started listing the prices of a few commodities, exchange rates and certain key provisions such as salt, coal and paper in 1698. Originally, this was not a daily list and was only published a few days of the week.This list and activity was later moved to Garraway’s coffee house. Public auctions during this period were conducted for the duration that a length of tallow candle could burn; these were known as "by inch of candle" auctions. As stocks grew, with new companies joining to raise capital, the royal court also raised some monies. These are the earliest evidence of organised trading in marketable securities in London.
MarketCap $ 3.2 trillion (2011)
Volume $ 2.1 trillion (2011)