The New York Stock Exchange today reported a net loss of US$1.6 million for the third quarter ended September 30, compared with net income of $6.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

NYSE said that an increase in listing-related fees and other income contributed to a 0.6% increase in revenues to US$264.3 million from US$262.7 million in the third quarter of 2003. But, expenses for the quarter rose 8% to US$268.8 million compared to US$248.8 million in third quarter of 2003 primarily due to a rise in legal expenses.

NYSE also incurred certain expenses as a result of investments in NYSE corporate governance initiatives, and a one-time contribution to the New York City Economic Development Corp. for the downtown New York “Streetscape” project, a joint effort with the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and other organizations designed to make lower Manhattan safer and more attractive.

Changes in revenue and expenses led to a pre-tax loss of US$4.5 million in third-quarter 2004, down from pre-tax income of US$13.9 million in third quarter 2003.

Average daily trading volume in third-quarter 2004 was 1.33 billion shares, valued at US$41.1 billion, compared with 1.36 billion shares valued at US$38.7 billion in the third quarter of 2003. NYSE’s global market capitalization in the nine months ended Sept. 30 increased to US$17.8 trillion, up 20% from the comparable period in 2003.

In third-quarter 2004, the NYSE maintained market share of 82.9% in its listed stocks during NYSE trading hours compared to 81.6% in the year-ago quarter.