DEFINITION of National Stock Exchange

The National Stock Exchange, abbreviated NSX, was the first stock exchange in America to be completely electronically automated. It began life as the Cincinnati Stock Exchange in Ohio in 1885, moved to Chicago in 1995, changed its name in 2003, and was taken over by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in early 2017. It is now known as the NYSE National and operates as a subsidiary of NYSE Holdings.

BREAKING DOWN National Stock Exchange

The National Stock Exchange was originally founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1885, at that stage known as the Cincinnati Stock Exchange. At that time, its main business listings were in railroads, banks and insurance companies. One hundred years later, still known as the Cincinnati Exchange, it became the first national stock exchange to operate electronically without a trading floor (NASDAQ was not yet listed with the Securities and Exchange Commission).

It moved to Chicago in 1995, and changed its name in 2003 to the National Stock Exchange. It later moved again, to New Jersey, in 2006. The NSX ceased trading in May 2014 due to low trading volume; it resumed trade about a year and a half later. Subsequently, it stated in December 2016 that it was once again about to stop trading due to low volumes. It accounted for just a 0.01% market share of US equity trading at that stage. The NYSE then bought the exchange and changed its name to the NYSE National. Although the intention was ultimately to continue trading, it ceased doing so in February 2017 after the NYSE transaction was finalized. The NYSE announced that the NYSE National would eventually transition to the NYSE Pillar platform, a relatively new integrated trading technology platform. It started trading again, on this platform, in the second quarter of 2018. It is now a trading-only (not a listing) venue.

The term "National Stock Exchange" can also refer to stock markets in India or Australia. In India, abbreviated as NSE, it is the main stock market — see National Stock Exchange of India. In Australia, it is the second-largest listing exchange, and specializes in growth companies, and also carries the abbreviation of NSX.