![SEC fee ruling takes aim at NYSE and Nasdaq profits](https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/FN-AE926_FN_NYS_M_20181017023405.jpg)
In recent years, US stock exchanges thought they had a guaranteed profit machine that could revive their sagging businesses: selling market data at ever-higher prices to a captive audience of Wall Street banks and traders.
On Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission unanimously ruled against the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in a 12-year legal dispute over market data fees.