What is the difference between the NASDAQ and the NYSE? The NYSE is a stock exchange with an actual physical location in New York City where stocks are traded on a centralized exchange. This means that when you are buying 100 shares of stock at the same time someone else is selling those shares, you do not buy those shares directly from the seller but instead from the NYSE exchange. The NASDAQ is different. NASDAQ is an acronym which stands for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. Automated is the key concept and word here. It is an electronic trading platform where the instruments are traded directly between 2 parties. Without an intermediary to eliminate counterparty risk. Because of the nature of electronic trading, a physical location is not required.