American Stock Exchange

[American stock market (amex)]

major U.S. stock exchange that also handles trades in options, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), corporate bonds, and other investment vehicles. Trading on the Amex—formerly known as the “Curb” (because its transactions took place outdoors during much of its existence)—is believed to have started about 1849 in New York City. By 1908 it was known as the New York Curb Agency, and it was called the New York Curb Exchange from 1929 to 1953, at which time it changed its name to its present form. The market first moved indoors in 1921. For a number of years it was a marketplace for securities not considered reputable enough for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, but it came to be considered an equally respectable exchange with its own listing requirements for securities and admissions requirements for members