Nasdaq Iceland and the OMX Iceland 15, explained

Iceland runs the smallest stock market in the Nordics with fewer than thirty companies on its main board, compared to more than three hundred in Stockholm. It is still a real market, with names you would recognise: the airline that flew you to Keflavík, a biosimilars maker also listed in New York, the technology behind a good share of the world's fish and poultry processing lines.

The catch is that almost all of the market's news is reported in Icelandic. This guide introduces Nasdaq Iceland and its headline index, the OMX Iceland 15, and how you can follow news for both of them in English.

The OMX Iceland 15

The OMX Iceland 15 (symbol OMXI15) is the benchmark index of Nasdaq Iceland, tracking up to 15 of the most-traded stocks on the exchange. It is weighted by market value and reconstituted twice a year, on the first trading day of January and July. It is priced in Icelandic króna.

Nasdaq Iceland is part of Nasdaq Nordic, the same operator that runs Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Helsinki, so the disclosure feeds and trading mechanics look familiar if you follow the larger markets. Continuous trading runs 09:30–15:25 local time, and because Iceland stays on GMT all year, those hours don't shift with the seasons. Iceland is not in the eurozone; the króna floats on its own.

What's on the index

The fifteen stocks are a cross-section of the Icelandic economy. Banking is well represented, by Arion Bank and Íslandsbanki. Fishing, still one of the country's largest export earners, is there too, in Síldarvinnslan, a pelagic catcher and processor. Tourism and aviation come through Icelandair.

Two of the names have outgrown the island. Alvotech, a Reykjavík biosimilars developer, is dual-listed on Nasdaq Iceland and on Nasdaq in New York. JBT Marel, the food-processing-technology group built on Iceland's Marel after its 2025 merger with the American firm JBT, now trades on both Nasdaq Iceland and the NYSE.

The line-up is reset twice a year, so rather than reprint a list that can go stale, see the current Icelandic listings on our exchange page.

Why OMX Iceland 15 news is hard to follow in English

Two layers sit behind the index. The first is the exchange itself: earnings, share buybacks, capital raises, and the rest of the regulated disclosures come off Nasdaq Iceland, often in both Icelandic and English. The second is the journalism that explains them — what a result means, who is buying whom, where a stock stands — and that's ususally published in Icelandic. Viðskiptablaðið and Morgunblaðið, the papers that cover the Reykjavík market, report it in Icelandic.

The disclosure travels; the explanation doesn't. A filing tells you a bank bought back its own shares; the Icelandic business press is where you find out whether the market read that as confidence or retreat. Being the smallest Nordic market makes this harder, not easier. There are too few listed companies for the international outlets to staff, so Bloomberg and Reuters reach for Iceland mainly when a dual-listed name like Alvotech does something large. There is limited English news: Iceland Monitor, run by Morgunblaðið, carries the occasional market item. But no outlet reports on the Icelandic market day to day in English, and for the smaller names on the board, useful English coverage barely exists. The gap is wider here than anywhere else in the Nordic region.

How to follow Nasdaq Iceland in English

Price aggregators and professional terminals already cover the first layer of quotes, charts, and the bilingual filings. The layer none of them translate is the Icelandic-language reporting, and that is the one Nordic Financial News covers. It monitors the Icelandic business press, the exchange disclosures, and the regulators, translates the news into English, and links each item to the companies involved.

1. Open a company page. Each Icelandic company — Icelandair, Alvotech, the banks — has a single page gathering its translated news, connected companies, upcoming dates, company profile and more.
2. Read the news in context. Every article is summarised in English and linked back to its Icelandic source, so you can check and cite the original.
3. Track the calendar. Earnings and dividend dates are pulled from reporting as they're announced and added to the company's calendar. Browse the calendar or the OMX Iceland 15.
4. Follow companies you care about. Build a watchlist of the Icelandic names you track, and narrow the news and calendar to them.

The Nordic Financial News free plan carries recent news from the major sources, and paid plans open the full source list and article archive. For business news from the rest of the Nordic region, see the companion guide, Nordic stock exchanges, and how to follow them in English.

Follow the Icelandic market in English. Translated news, linked to companies, with earnings and dividend dates. Get started — free

Frequently asked questions

What is the OMX Iceland 15?
The headline index of Nasdaq Iceland, with up to fifteen of the largest and most-traded stocks on the exchange, weighted by market value and rebalanced each January and July. It is priced in Icelandic króna and includes names such as Arion Bank, Icelandair, and Alvotech.

Can I follow the Icelandic stock market in English?
Yes. Share prices are available in English from the usual aggregators, and Nasdaq Iceland publishes many disclosures in English. The journalism that explains them runs in Icelandic. Nordic Financial News translates that reporting and links it to the companies, which is what this guide covers.

Is Icelandic market news available in English for free?
Yes, some of it is. International outlets cover the largest names occasionally, and an English-language outlet like Iceland Monitor carries the odd market story. For continuous, company-linked coverage of the Icelandic market, Nordic Financial News offers a free plan with recent news from the major sources, and paid plans to unlock the full archive. You can start for free.