The American Stock Exchange (AMEX) is an American stock exchange situated in New York. AMEX is a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1929 it was known as the New York Curb Exchange. On 2008-01-17, NYSE Euronext announced it would acquire the American Stock Exchange for $260 million in stock.
The American Stock Exchange
AMEX. The second-largest stock exchange in the U.S., after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In general, the listing rules are a little more lenient than those of the NYSE, and thus the AMEX has a larger representation of stocks and bonds issued by smaller companies than the NYSE. Some index options and interest rate options trading also occurs on the AMEX. The AMEX started as an alternative to the NYSE. It originated when brokers began meeting on the curb outside the NYSE in order to trade stocks that failed to meet the Big Board’s stringent listing requirements, but the AMEX now has its own trading floor. In 1998 the parent company of the NASDAQ purchased the AMEX and combined their markets, although the two continue to operate separately. also called The Curb.
History of American Stock Exchange
One of the largest options exchanges in the United States. Located at 86 Trinity Place in lower Manhattan, AMEX was known as the Curb Exchange until 1921. The exchange pioneered index options and trades options on 25 broad-based and sector indices. It is a leader in the development of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), and it calculates and publishes a wide variety of indices to support index-based products such as ETFs, index options, and structured products. The Amex is home to more than 700 companies and trades 20 corporate bonds. The Amex was one of the pioneers in index options and today trades put-and-call options on broad market, industry sector, and international indexes. Index options make it possible for investors to “trade” an entire market to seek either profit or protection from price movements in a stock market as a whole or in broad segments of a particular market. The exchange trades more than 160 ETFs; 17 Holding Company Depositary Receipts (HOLDRs); and more than 350 structured products such as notes linked to currencies, equities, and indexes. The two main indices tracking Amex stocks are the Amex Composite Index and the Amex Major Market Index. Amex derivatives include Diamonds, which tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts (SPDRs), which track the S&P 500 index and are called Spiders. In 2004, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) transferred control of the Amex back to its membership and elected a new board. The board is composed of 15 members, nine independent and six industry governors. The Amex’s equity market is a centralized, specialist-based auction market, and the exchange is currently making upgrades to its trading technology, which includes the Amex New Trading Environment (ANTE) for options. The exchange expects to have the upgrades fully implemented by the first quarter of 2006, in order to meet Regulation NMS compliance requirements. As a result, the Amex’s trading environment will be largely automated and expects to have the speed of an electronic communication network, but will still retain its human-based Open Outcry system of trading for those investors who desire it. Trading hours: 9:30 A.M.-4 P.M., Monday through Friday. www.amex.com
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