The Nsx Ltd (ASX: NSX) share price more than doubled after the alternative stock exchange operator posted its quarterly update.

The NSX share price rocketed over 112% to 18 cents during lunch time trade when the All Ordinaries (Index:^AORD) (ASX:XAO) and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) are only 0.1% higher.

Investors got excited after management reported a strong pick-up in the number of companies looking to list on its bourse.

NSX share price jumps on listing interest

NSX operates the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSXA). During the quarter, it received four new pre-listing submissions, one new listing application, one new nominated adviser application and two new participant applications.

The forward pipeline for listings now stands at 30 applicants and volumes and interest have increased appreciably, added NSX.

Cash position and IT projects support NSX stock

Further, NSX reported an increase in cash of $450,000 to $5 million in the period. It also posted a net operating cash inflow of $651,000 and a $130,000 decrease in admin and corporate costs to $330,000.

Management provided an update on the NSXA Trade Acceptance Service (TAS) project. It said TAS is ready to be switched on with all but three of the 16 market participants.

It is also making progress on its IT trading system that will allow it to operate in parallel to the ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX) CHESS system. In due course, NSX believes NSXA will operate autonomously from CHESS.

Possible dark clouds

But it wasn't all good news. Management suffered a defeat at its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) that was held in the quarter. Shareholders successfully voted against all resolutions to appoint additional directors to the board.

"The Company has received a section 249D notice with a resolution to remove Mr Thomas Price as a director," said the NSX in its ASX statement.

"The EGM for this meeting is scheduled for the 30 October 2020."

The company is also still feeling the impact from COVID‐19, which is affecting staff workflows. This is particularly pronounced in Victoria due to the mismanagement of the first outbreak. Fortunately, most of NSX's business operations are undertaken in New South Wales.

The post What you need to know about the surge in the NSX (ASX:NSX) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX) share price has increased 7.1% in 2020, but will the share market operator's value continue climbing higher this year?

What does ASX Ltd actually do?

ASX Group, the organisation's holding company, was formed in July 2006. It was borne out of a merger between the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange.

The ASX functions as 'a market operator, clearinghouse and payments system facilitator'. That basically means it manages capital flows, trading and securities settlements across cash, fixed income, derivatives and equities.

The ASX Ltd share price has been climbing higher in 2020 and is outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by some margin. So, what's driving the ASX share price in 2020?

Will the ASX share price continue climbing higher this year?

This one is really a 50-50 in my books. Market volatility like we've seen in the March bear market can be a good or bad thing for share market operators.

That's why the ASX Ltd's August earnings will be so critical to watch. If the company reports strong trading revenue, that could offset lower initial public offering (IPO) earnings.

ASX Ltd is currently a big outperformer, but I really think the level of market volatility, and how this is ultimately reflected in the company's bottom line, is the key here.

How does ASX Ltd make money?

The share market operator generates income in a few different ways. One major contributor is fees received for IPOs. The company's Listings and Issuer Services segment generated half-year revenue of $114.6 million. Other major contributors were Derivatives and OTC Markets ($160.0 million) and Trading Services ($126.1 million).

While IPOs are less likely to occur in a volatile market like we're experiencing right now, other areas of the business may pick up. That includes more exchange-traded product listings with ASX Ltd's revenue for this segment climbing 16.4% to $4.3 million in 1H20.

Higher earnings potential would obviously be good news for the ASX Ltd share price. On that note, we've seen a big increase in trading volumes this year. Increasing numbers of investors have been looking to buy and sell which means more transactions being processed by the ASX.

That's why I think the company's earnings result is a critical factor for the ASX share price going forward. I would expect IPO revenue to fall but who knows how good the result could be for the company's Trading Services and Derivatives businesses.

Are there any major competitors?

The ASX attracts some intense competition from offshore exchanges like the London Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, NYSE and Euronext.

Of course, ASX Ltd wants to keep more companies in Australia. That means losing top Aussie companies like Atlassian Corporation Plc (NASDAQ: TEAM) to offshore markets  is bad for business.

In Australia, ASX Ltd basically enjoys a monopoly. Its major rival is NSX Ltd (ASX: NSX) which is trying to develop a blockchain-based market.

However, the NSX has a market capitalisation of just $23.3 million. With ASX Ltd boasting a share price of $83.98 and a $16.3 billion market cap, this puts it well ahead of its smaller rival.

The post Will the ASX share price climb higher this year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

NSX Ltd (ASX: NSX), the company behind the National Stock Exchange of Australia, could soon be about to change how we invest in shares in Australia.

In a move to challenge ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX), the NSX announced today that iSignthis Limited (ASX: ISX) has taken a 12.96% position in NSX with a $4.2 million placement at $0.145 per share, causing the NSX share price to rocket 128% to $0.20 today.

NSX will now seek shareholder approval to raise an additional $3.8 million to $5.8 million of which ISX has the option to invest for an additional allocation, for up to a 19.9% final stake in NSX.

What are NSX and iSignthis going to do?

They are forming a joint venture called ClearPay to develop a multi-currency, real-time, same day delivery versus payment platform and it will be integrated with iSignthis' ISXPay and Paydentity.

The system will initially be utilized alongside the current National Stock Exchange of Australia's current post-trade arrangements, though eventually it is intended that all transactions will be processed on the new platform.

The partners aim for Clearpay's same-day settlement offering to be superior to the process offered by other domestic and global exchanges by utilising blockchain technology, making it one of the most advanced systems in the world.

NSX looks to attract companies

Acting CEO of NSX Thomas Price said: "Market commentators are in broad agreement that cash equity exchanges are facing a global technology revolution which is challenging legacy methods of clearing and settlement. Having patiently monitored the development of the appropriate technology and know how we consider that this is the right time for the NSX to act.

"The ClearPay joint venture with iSignthis allows the NSX to expediate its plants to transform its licenced exchange market within a cost-efficient framework. The introduction of an already experienced provider of RegTech and payments systems is very satisfying for us as it allows an accelerated build process.

"More exciting is that it creates a solid foundation for the NSXA to be a true independent first-class venue of choice for companies seeking to be serviced via the most advanced infrastructure and distribution in their goal of attracting investors from here and abroad."

Could it happen?

Look at the US. The NASDAQ came in with better technology and now it has many of the leading US technology companies listed there, rather than the New York Stock Exchange.

However, the ASX is also investing in new technology which could be enough to see off this intriguing competition from iSignthis and NSX.

The post Will how we invest in Australian shares completely change soon? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.