Wall Street Scene (2)

The Cincinnati Stock Exchange is alive, well, and living in Jersey City, N.J. , while using a New York telephone number.

The exchange, which has been in existence since 1885, may finally begin to attract some attention. Last week the Securities and Exchange Commission granted the CSE permission for permanent use of its computerized National Securities Trading System (NSTS) and eliminated any limitation on the number of issues that can be traded on the system. Up until the decision, the exchange was operating its computerized trading facilities on a temporary basis, handling only 112 stock issues. Although volume has doubled during the market surge, it is only running at 8 to 9 million shares a month. Kenneth Eber, a trustee of the CSE, commented: ''The SEC announcement removes the experimental stigma . . . people don't do business with experiments.''

The Cincinnati exchange is connected electronically with most of the other major exchanges through what is called the Intermarket Trading System - allowing brokers to execute orders on whichever exchange is offering the best price.

Recently, Control Data Corporation has made a major investment in expanding the CSE's capacity, which should help the exchange to attract new business.

Exactly how long it will remain the Cincinnati Stock Exchange is another matter. It's considering a name change - possibly to the United States Stock Exchange - next year.