P.M. BRIEFING : Amex Chairman Levitt Resigns After 11 Years Heading Exchange

American Stock Exchange Chairman Arthur Levitt Jr. resigned today after 11 years heading the nation’s third-largest trading system.

Board members said they expect Levitt, 58, to take a larger role in the publishing industry.

Levitt heads Levitt Communications Inc., which publishes Roll Call, a government news-oriented paper delivered twice weekly to the White House and congressmen’s homes. The company in April agreed to acquire a controlling interest in B&B; Enterprises Inc., which owns the publisher of Stagebill, a magazine distributed at performance arts centers.

The Amex is the nation’s third-largest stock exchange, far outpaced in volume by the New York Stock Exchange and the National Assn. of Securities Dealers over-the-counter market traded electronically nationwide.

Board member Howard Brenner, executive vice president of Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., said Levitt will remain at the exchange until a replacement is named.