Shareholders controlling more than 80 percent of German stock market operator Deutsche Boerse on Thursday approved a merger with NYSE Euronext to create the world\'s biggest stock exchange. The result surpassed a minimum level of 75 percent needed to approve the deal, Deutsche Boerse said in a statement. It was one of the the last major obstacles to the plan, as NYSE Euronext shareholders had approved the deal on Thursday. It still requires the approval of competition authorities, however, since the new group covers Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, New York, Lisbon and Paris and will have a quasi-monopoly on areas such as European derivatives trading. The partners aim to finalise the merger by the end of the year.