NYSE American

In the 1830s traders on New York’s streets became known as “curbstone brokers,” often specializing in the stocks of small new enterprises such as turnpikes, canals and railroads. During the California Gold Rush of the 1840s they made markets in mining companies, and after petroleum was discovered in western PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaPennsylvania (officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) is a Middle Atlantic state of the United States; its capital is Harrisburg, and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are its two great metropolitan areas. One of the original 13 states, it ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 12, 1787, the second state to do so. Its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 13,002,700.Open the full entry in 1859, oil stocks began trading on the curb market. After the Civil War they began dealing in the stocks of small industrial companies.⁠[1]

In the 1850s the curbstone brokers gathered at Wall and Hanover Streets, later moving to William and Beaver Streets; in the 1890s the curb market moved to Broad Street near Exchange Place.⁠[1]

In 1904 Emanuel S. Mendels Jr. began organizing the curb market to promote sound and ethical dealings and published the first annual directory of reliable brokers. In 1908 the group became the New York Curb Market Agency, codifying trading practices, and in 1911 it drafted a constitution and became known as the New York Curb Market.⁠[1][2]

In 1921 the New York Curb Market moved indoors to a new building on Greenwich Street in lower Manhattan. Designed by Starrett & Van Vleck, the building was constructed in 1920–1921 and completed in late June 1921.⁠[1][2]

In 1929 the New York Curb Market changed its name to the New York Curb Exchange. To meet increasing share volume, the trading floor was expanded to more than twice its size, with the entrance moved to 86 Trinity Place; the addition, also designed by Starrett & Van Vleck, was built in 1930–1931 and dedicated in September 1931.⁠[1][2]

On January 5, 1953, the New York Curb Exchange was renamed the American Stock Exchange. In the 1950s Radio Amex broadcast stock prices and market information, and the value of listed shares grew from $12 billion in 1950 to $23 billion by 1960.⁠[2][1]

In 1971 the New York Stock ExchangeNew York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a securities exchange on Wall Street in New York City. It traces its origins to the Buttonwood Agreement signed by 24 stockbrokers in 1792, has used its present name since 1863 and has been owned by Intercontinental Exchange since 2013.Open the full entry and the American Stock Exchange consolidated key automation and service facilities in a new jointly owned corporation, the Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC), and the American Stock Exchange was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation.⁠[1]

In 1975 the exchange launched its options market, supported by an investor education program. Between 1979 and 1988 the trading floor was expanded again with two balconies and a mezzanine trading level, and with space gained by purchasing 22 Thames Street.⁠[1]

In 1993 the American Stock Exchange introduced the first exchange-traded fund, Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts (SPDRs, nicknamed “Spiders”), which became the largest ETF in the world.⁠[1]

In 1998 the American Stock Exchange merged with the National Association of Securities Dealers to create The NasdaqAmex Market Group; it regained its independence in 2004.⁠[1]

On October 1, 2008, NYSE Euronext completed its acquisition of the American Stock Exchange for $260 million in NYSE Euronext common stock, with any net proceeds from the expected sale of the exchange’s lower Manhattan headquarters also to go to its members in stock. The American Stock Exchange contributed 416 ETF listings and 13 ETN listings, and NYSE Euronext became the third-largest U.S. equity options marketplace by contracts traded; the exchange’s options trading floor operations were to move to the NYSE options floor in the first quarter of 2009.⁠[3]

The NYSE states that the combination expanded its presence in U.S. options, ETFs, closed-end funds, structured products and cash equities. The American Stock Exchange ceased trading at the 86 Trinity Place building in February 2009, and the building has been vacant since then.⁠[4][2]

In 2012 the American Stock Exchange’s equities market was renamed NYSE MKT. On June 26 that year, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the former New York Curb Exchange building at 86 Trinity Place, incorporating the New York Curb Market Building, as a landmark.⁠[1][2]

On January 25, 2017, the NYSE outlined its 2017 equity market strategy: following regulatory approval, NYSE MKT would be renamed NYSE American and focus on small and mid-cap companies, adding midpoint trading features including a 350-microsecond delay upon order entry, proprietary data and outbound routing, and a Discretionary Pegged Order. NYSE Group would ultimately operate four distinct exchanges, each with its own market model.⁠[5]

As of November 2026, NYSE American is operated by NYSE Group, part of Intercontinental Exchange. The exchange describes itself as an equities market designed for growing companies, offering primary listings for small-cap companies and blending features of the New York Stock Exchange with NYSE Arca’s electronic execution model; trading uses price/time allocation and make/take pricing, each listed security is assigned one electronic Designated Market Maker (e-DMM) with quoting obligations, and opening and closing auctions are held.⁠[6][7]

Intercontinental Exchange’s executive management page lists Lynn Martin as President, NYSE Group, and Chair, ICE Fixed Income & Data Services.⁠[8]

NYSE American: Official website: https://www.nyse.com/markets/nyse-american (opens in a new window).⁠[6]

New York Stock Exchange: Official website: https://www.nyse.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[4]

Intercontinental Exchange: Official website: https://ir.theice.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[8]