Comment by ajnin
2 days ago
The stock markets definitely have competition. For instance Frankfurt, London, Paris or Amsterdam very much compete with each other to offer desirable conditions for investors, and companies will move their trading from one to another if it is their interest. I think the fact they close at night is a self-preservation mechanism, traders would become insane if they had to worry about their positions 24/7.
There's a very strong network effect, and most stocks are only listed on a single stock exchange, so in most contexts the competition is very minimal.