Where to Trade the Stocks - A Exchange Side View

The price of any stock is decided by the buyers and the sellers for most of the stocks traded on the exchange market, but in some of the exchanges the transactions are carried out on a trading floor itself. Also, there are other type of exchanges where the trades are done electronically. The stock market is like a mediator between the buyer and the seller where the exchange of securities takes place.
There are two types of stock market: Primary market and the secondary market. The purpose of a primary market is to introduce the stock by way of IPO's whereas the secondary market is a place where the investors trade on the existing or the listed securities on the exchange.
The most prominent exchange in the entire globe is the New York Stock Exchange also referred as NYSE. This exchange was set up in the year 1792 with the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement by 24 new York City Stockbrokers and the merchants. NYSE is also known as listed exchange, is one of its own type where the trading is done directly on the trading floor. The brokerage firms who are the members of the exchange passes orders to the floor brokers who trades for the specific stocks. On the trading floor specific person known as the specialist who matches the buyers and the sellers demand. The price of stock is determined by mode of auction, where the buyer is ready to pay the highest price for the stock and the lower price at which the anybody is willing to sell the stock. The brokerage firm receives the details of the trade once it is completed and in turn the investor is intimated of the transaction taken place.
The second type of exchange is known as over the counter(OTC) market. These type of market do not have any central location for the brokers to trade. Trading here is done through communication network between the dealers. Resulting in NASDAQ being a competitor to NYSE.
At NASDAQ brokerages act as market makers for the various stocks, where market makers provides bid and the ask prices within a prescribed percentage spread for the shares.