Stock Markets Exposed

What are Nasdaq, NYSE, and the other stock markets for? Why do their averages differ from one another?

Public Comments

1. NYSE, New York Stock Exchange, is an auction clearing house where buyers and sellers of public companies' stocks physically encounter each other to negotiate and trade said stocks. In order for a stock to be traded on the NYSE, it has to apply for listing and then be approved by the NYSE. There are many requirements for this. NASDAQ, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system, is the combined computer systems used by the the member dealers of NASD to buy and sell stocks not listed on NYSE or another exchange. Some refer to stocks on NASDAQ as "over the counter" stocks. NYSE includes companies not in NASDAQ and visa-versa, and this is the reason their averages are different.