New York Stock Exchange-listed securities create less market impact and carry a lower commission rate than Nasdaq-listed securities, according to findings by transaction cost analyst Elkins/McSherry. NYSE-listed stock trading costs an average of 17.51 basis points, which is 3.15 basis points cheaper than trading Nasdaq's. Those savings translate into $3,150 per $1 million worth of stock.

The report looked at transaction cost analysis taken from 250 asset managers, pension funds and endowments with $100 million-$300 billion in assets under management. It covered 20 million trades of about 400 billion shares totaling $5 trillion from April to June.

The difference in trading costs is attributed to NYSE-listed securities being more liquid than Nasdaq stocks, said Henry Marigliano, sales director at Elkins/McSherry. The NYSE mainly lists large-cap companies, while Nasdaq mostly lists small-cap stocks. Because NYSE-listed stocks tend to be more liquid, they create less of a market impact and are better suited for electronic trading, which lowers commissions paid to brokers, Marigliano said.

Brokers generally get paid more to find liquidity in less liquid stocks. Marigliano said the cost of trading in both markets has steadily decreased in the last year as electronic trading has flourished and money managers have put more pressure on brokerages to decrease commissions.