NYSE vs NASDAQ: Understanding the Key Differences between Two Leading Stock Exchanges

Whenever investors talk about the stock markets in North America or around the world, two major exchanges come to mind – NYSE and NASDAQ. Both are the world’s largest stock exchanges with the largest market capitalisation. The buying and selling process on either of the exchanges may seem identical, but there are significant differences between the two. Here we summarize NYSE vs NASDAQ for easy understanding.

What is NYSE?

NYSE stands for New York Stock Exchange. It was incorporated in 1792 in New York City. Also, NYSE is the world’s largest stock exchange based on total market capitalization. It lists more than 2,800 stocks and also includes many US blue chip stocks. Moreover, this exchange is owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE), which purchased NYSE in 2013. 

What is NASDAQ?

NASDAQ stands for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. NASDAQ was founded in 1971 and is also the first electronic stock exchange. It was the first to use computers to match buyers and sellers. Furthermore, in 2006, it separated from the National Association of Securities Dealers to become its own publicly traded company. Today, this exchange is also the global electronic marketplace for trading securities where the world’s largest technology companies are listed – Apple, Amazon, Google, etc. 

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Difference Between NYSE and NASDAQ

The following table summarizes NYSE vs NASDAQ.

Parameters	NYSE	NASDAQ
Acronym	New York Stock Exchange	National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations
Founded	1792	1971
Type of Market	Auction Market – is a system based on buyers and sellers entering competitive bids at the same time.	Dealers Market – a type of market where multiple dealers post prices at which they buy or sell a specific stock.
Market Capitalisation	$26.2 trillion	$30.55 billion
Number of companies listed	2,400 approximately	3,700 approximately
Location	New York City, NY	New York City, NY and Marwah, NJ
Indices	It includes NYSE 100 and NYSE composite	It includes NASDAQ composite, NASDAQ 100 and NASDAQ biotechnology
Traffic control	Specialist – it matches the bids and offers and then paired together with the orders that are being executed.	Market maker – a member firm or market participants such as a brokerage firm or bank that actively buys and also sells stocks on behalf of traders.  Moreover, they ensure an efficient trading process.
Volatility	Stocks are less volatile	Stocks are more volatile
Listing fees	Entry fee – $500,000 Yearly listing fee – based on the total number of shares and capped at $500,000	Entry fee – $50,000 to $75,000 Yearly listing fee – $27,500
Leader	This stock exchange is the leader in accrued market cap of listed companies.	This stock exchange is a leader in market share and also the volume of shares traded.
Trading method	Physically	Through telecommunication
Stock ticker	ICE	NDAQ
CEO	Ducan L.Niederauer	Bob Greifeld

As seen above, NYSE vs NASDAQ are different in the way they operate and also different in their constituents. Furthermore, there are different listing requirements that the company has to follow to be listed on either of the stock exchanges. However, there is no difference in how each stock trades, but it is essential to know how the exchanges work to make informed decisions. 

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