As a new entrant into the stock market you will keep hearing about the terms NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ and more of the international ones nowadays like HangSeng or the LSE or even the Luxembourg stock exchange.

These are stock exchanges where the exchange of stocks takes place between the buyers and the sellers. In effect these are the actual stock markets but the term stock market is used in a broader term to signify the overall stock holdings, indices, exchanges and everything else related to stocks.

New York Stock Exchange started in 1792 and is located at the epitome of the US financial icon street called the Wall Street. It is undoubtedly one of the largest exchanges in the country. All the companies aspire to be listed here so there shares can be traded on this exchange but before a company can be listed here they have to complete certain set of criteria in terms of financial strength as well as the industry they operate in.

(more…)