Facts About The Stock Market

We have compiled a list of the most amazing facts about the stock market and it’s history.

1. During Gil Amelio’s tenure as Apple CEO, Apple’s stock slumped and hit a 12-year low in 1997 that was at least partially caused by a single sale of 1.5 million shares of Apple stock by an anonymous party, who was later confirmed to be Steve Jobs. Jobs convinced the directors to oust Amelio in a boardroom coup and Jobs then became CEO.

2. In 2005, an inexperienced trader at a Japanese bank tried to sell 1 share of J-Com stock for ¥640,000. He accidentally sold 640,000 shares for ¥1 each; the equivalent of selling $3 billion worth of shares for the price of $5,000.

A trader accidentally sold $3 billion worth of shares for $5,000 in 2005.

3.The Dutch East India Company was the first multinational corporation in existence, created in 1602. It is the first company to issue stocks and is the granddaddy of all corporations today. Shareholders didn’t have much influence – the company was controlled by its directors. However, shareholders were richly rewarded. The annual dividends were 16% on average over the first half of the 17th century.

4.On average, the market performs the poorest in September. Since 1950, the Dow has declined 1.1% and the S&P 500 has declined 0.7% on average during the month of September. Since the Nasdaq was created in 1971, its composite index has fallen an average of 1% in September.

5.While you might think that London is a huge stock exchange center, the truth is that Shanghai is number two. The NYSE trades $1,520 billion of shares per month, while Shanghai trades $1,278 billion. The London Stock Exchange Group only trades $165 billion per month.