International Finance

* Tokyo Stock Exchange

* London Stock Exchange

* Shanghai Stock Exchange (China)

* Hong Kong Stock Exchange

* Toronto Stock Exchange

* Deutsche Borse (Germany)

Stock Market Benchmarks (Stock Indices)

Stock market benchmarks allow an investor to measure the average performance of a national stock market. There are several stock market indexes that are used to benchmark the performance of a given market. That is, one or several indexes may track a national market at any given time.

A stock index or stock market index is a method of measuring the value of a section of the stock market. It is computed from the prices of selected stocks(sometimes a weighted average). It is a tool used by investors and financial managers to describe the market, and to compare the return on specific investments.

International Stock Indexes

A 'world' or 'global' stock market index includes (typically large) companies without regard for where they are domiciled or traded. Few examples are :

* Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) World Index - Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Index is a national market value weighted indexes of 22 developed countries based on approximately 2600 stocks. Their indexes are constructed to avoid double counting. These indexes have been available since 1970 and cover at least 60% of the market capitalization for each country.

* BBC Global 30 - World stock market index of 30 of the largest companies by stock market value in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

* S&P Global 1200 - global stocks index covering 31 countries and around 70 percent of global market capitalization.

* iShares MSCI EAFE Index (EFA) - provides investment results generally equivalent to publicly traded securities in the European, Australasian and Far Eastern markets. Maintained by Morgan Stanley Capital International.

Domestic Indexes

Local indexes are widely used by domestic investors to calculate performance, market betas, hedge ratios, etc. Private international investors often prefer domestic indexes for the following reasons:

1. local indexes have a broader coverage of stocks (they give the idea of the market portfolio).

2. local indexes are available immediately.

3. local indexes have been used for several decades and therefore there is more data available.

A 'national' index represents the