What is the difference between the dow, nyse & nasdaq?

MS. ESSENCE: What is the difference between the dow, nyse & nasdaq?
Just letting you know, when I say please keep answers in simple english terms it doesn’t by any means make me unintelligent. Some people on here are real jerks who love to offend & DO NOT have the right to do so.

The dumbest q is the one u don’t know the answer to & don’t bother to ask. If Yahoo did’nt think Yahoo Answers would be useful, they would’nt have created it. Period.

I’m learning as I go along & am very curious about investing, otherwise I would’nt even bother.

Ty for your time,
~Essence

Answers and Views:

Answer by Steve
The DOW is an index, which is a group of individual stocks, put into a group by the industry, and these stock make up the Index. The stocks in the index will have common characteristics. DOW is made up of large companies that are well established and most pay a dividend. It is a very old index.

The NYSE is the New York Stock Exchange. It is the old school exchange, very popular and a big name. Trades are done on paper, by people.

NASDAQ is the new school exchange, many tech companies trade here, and all trades are done electronically.

I am not sure how much you know about finance, but the exchanges are where stocks are traded, the market where we buy and sell, and price of stocks are determined by supply and demand.

Answer by JSan521704
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (most commonly referred to as the Dow) is an index of the 30 largest companies in the world. The NYSE stands for the New York Stock Exchange, it is where many stocks are traded, the NYSE trades via a system known as the hybrid after their merger with Arcapelago. The most liquid stocks listed on NYSE are traded electronically and the least liquid stocks are traded on the floor ((a system known as open outcry (an auction where traders can bid on buy and sell orders as the come in to the market maker)). The Nasdaq stands for National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System. The Nasdaq is a system where companies can list their stocks and where all transactions in these stocks are done electronically.

I hope that helps.