Spotlight: PE Is Sitting Pretty Over AMEX on Cost of a Seat

A seat on the Pacific Exchange is now worth 10% more than a seat on the bigger American Stock Exchange. A seat on the San Francisco-based regional PE recently sold for a record $275,000, while an AMEX seat cost $250,000. Though an average 21.4 million shares changed hands daily on the New York-based AMEX in the first quarter of 1997, well above the 13.25 million on the PE, the jump in the PE seat price comes as option trading volume--mostly in high-tech issues--soars.