Johannesburg Stock Exchange

The JSE was originally formed in 1887, during the time of the first South African Gold Rush. The original transactions allegedly took place under cover of a rustic canvas tent, and this was to trade on the gold discoveries that became prominent in the area.

With an opportunistic eye, London businessman Benjamin Minors Woollan established the Johannesburg Exchange & Chambers Company, and out of this the Johannesburg Stock Exchange was officially formed. 68 companies were listed during this formative year, and by 1890, this had expanded to more than 300. As the Exchange expanded, new premises were needed, which led to the Stock Exchange being rebuilt several times in new places during the decades that followed.

In September 2000, the Exchange took up residence at its present location in Sandon and became known by the name it is recognised for today, JSE Limited. And in 2012 the JSE became one of the founding members of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative, which was an effort by the UN to offer more transparency within the world of trading.

Today, the JSE stands as one of the world’s leading Stock Exchanges, connecting investors to growth opportunities on both a local and a global level.

JSE Limited has connected with the London FTSE to bring into fruition the JSE/FTSE indices. The main index used is the Top40 index, which is comprised of the 40 largest listed companies on JSE Limited’s roster. The JSE also uses a number of sub-indices, which include the Indi25, which specialises in the 25 largest industrial stocks, and the Fini15, which monitors the 15 largest financial stocks on the index.