The New York Stock Exchange announced on Wednesday it will launch an exchange in Texas, increasing competition among listing venues in the state.

Several high-profile firms, including Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX, have relocated their headquarters to Texas, attracted by the U.S. state's perceived favorable legal and regulatory environment.

The move comes as Texas Stock Exchange, a new venture backed by financial giants including BlackRock Citadel Securities and Charles Schwab, target a 2026 launch after submitting paperwork to operate as a national securities exchange, late last month.

The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq have dominated the lucrative U.S. listings market in a virtual duopoly since the 2000s.

NYSE Chicago will reincorporate in Texas and rebrand as NYSE Texas, providing companies with a new venue to list their securities, NYSE, which is part of Intercontinental Exchange , said.

"As the state with the largest number of NYSE listings, representing over $3.7 trillion in market value for our community, Texas is a market leader in fostering a pro-business atmosphere," NYSE Group's president Lynn Martin said.

The company said NYSE Texas, a fully electronic equities exchange, will be headquartered in Dallas.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)