Exchanges & Indexes: Exchanges

An exchange is a facility where traders can buy and sell securities, such as stocks, bonds, commodities, futures, options, derivatives, and other financial instruments. Before the general accessibility of the Internet, exchanges were physical spaces where the traders bought and sold securities. Today, exchanges can be either a physical space or an electronic equivalent where securities are traded online.

In the United States, there are three major exchanges - The New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.