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Market functioning

Vocabulary essentials

The Stock Exchange:  The Stock Exchange is a regulated market, on which financial instruments are publicly traded.  It is governed by Law 19-14 and the regulations adopted for its implementation,;

Regulated market:  "a financial instruments market instituted by law and managed by a body that facilitates and guarantees the regular and transparent functioning of financial instruments trading.  These market rules specifically lay down the conditions for admission, listing and de-listing of financial instruments, the organizational provisions and conditions for suspension of trading in financial instruments, as well as the rules on recording and publishing such trades." Article 1 of Law 19-14

Financial instruments :  "Financial instruments as defined by Article 2 of Act No. 44-12 on public offerings and disclosures required of legal entities and bodies issuing securities to the public, other than forward financial instruments"  Article 1 of Act 19-14:  Equity securities, debt securities and UCI securities

Financial instruments as defined by Article 2 of Act No. 44-12 on public offerings and disclosures required of legal entities and bodies issuing securities to the public, to the exclusion of forward financial instruments:

  • Capital securities in the form of shares and other securities giving or likely to give access, directly or indirectly, to capital or voting rights, transferable by book entry or by tradition;
  • Debt securities, each representing a claim on an issuing legal entity, transferable by book entry or by tradition, excluding commercial bills;
  •  Marketable securities issued by UCIs: 
    • Undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities,
    • Undertakings for collective investment in capital;
    • Undertakings for collective investment in the area of securitization;
    • Undertakings for collective investment in real estate.

Market model

  • Centralized and order-driven market;
  • Mandatory market clearance for all transactions in listed securities;
  • Mandatory processing by approved intermediaries (brokerage houses);
  • Transparency of orders and executions;
  • Central market and Block market;
  • Prices subject to reservation (limit up/ limit down) principle.

Back-office model

  • Dematerialized securities settlement with central custodian;
  • Secure and automated transaction settlement;
  • Trade completion assurance system.

Transactions in financial instruments listed on the stock exchange can only occur on the stock exchange and through approved brokerage houses.

A transaction is defined as any transfer of ownership of listed securities.

Financial instruments listed on the stock exchange are traded automatically on a technology platform provided by LSEG Technologies, a technology subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and a leading developer of high-performance trading systems.

Instruments can be traded on the central order book, the Block order book and the auction order book:

Normal Order Book:  The central order book is the central market, where orders are transmitted regardless of size.

Block Order Book: This order book is reserved for block orders, enabling compatible orders to be executed.  Orders must comply with size and price conditions.

Auctions Order Book:  This order book is used occasionally to perform auctions outside the central order book.  It is used, in particular, for the auctioning of seized securities.

In central order books and auctions, orders are classified and executed according to two priority rules:

  • Priority to price;
  • Then priority to time of order entry. 
Listing methods

Trading hours