The New York Stock Exchange NYSE is a stock exchange based in New York City , New York. It is one of the largest facilities in the world for trading stocks and financial securities. The NYSE is operated by NYSE Euronext, which was formed in by the NYSE's merger with the fully electronic stock exchange Euronext.

The NYSE building was designated a National Historic Landmark, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in The NYSE began in when the Buttonwood Agreement was signed by 24 stock brokers outside on Wall Street. Trading on the floor was available only to members who had purchased one of the limited number of "seats.

The NYSE has been involved in, and contributed significantly to, many important changes in American society, changes which have impacted the world. Industrialization progressed quickly with the capital that was available through the stock exchange. On the other side, the Great Depression began with the Stock Market Crash of Recognizing the significance of stock exchanges on the economy, coupled with increasing globalization , the issue of government regulation has become paramount.

As such a significant player, the effectiveness of the NYSE in its support of economic health is critical to efforts to establish a world of prosperity. The origin of the New York Stock Exchange can be traced to May 17, , when the Buttonwood Agreement was signed by 24 stock brokers on Wall Street in New York City under a buttonwood tree. Anthony Stockholm was elected the Exchange's first president. The building was destroyed in the Great Fire of New York , after which the Exchange moved to a temporary headquarters.

In , it changed its name to the New York Stock Exchange NYSE. In , it moved to Broad Street. This figure was calculated by tracking the stock prices of twelve different companies and taking their average.

Published in The Wall Street Journal, the DJIA quickly became a popular indicator of stock market activity. The volume of stocks traded increased sixfold in the years between and , and the NYSE needed a larger space to conduct business. Demolition of the existing building at 10 Broad Street and the adjacent lots started on May 10, Another trading floor was opened at 30 Broad Street in With the arrival of the hybrid market, whereby a stock broker may either have his order executed immediately in a fully automated electronic exchange, or have it routed to the trading floor where it is completed manually via the more traditional live auction method in the presence of a specialist broker, a greater proportion of trading was executed electronically and the NYSE decided to close the 30 Broad Street trading room in early In late , the exchange closed the rooms created by the and expansions due to the declining number of traders and employees on the floor, a result of increased electronic trading.

On June 2, , the NYSE building was designated a National Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange sometimes referred to as "the Big Board" provides a means for buyers and sellers to trade shares of stock in companies registered for public trading.

To be listed on the NYSE a corporation must meet specified criteria. The NYSE is open for trading Monday through Friday between 9: Eastern Time ET , with the exception of holidays declared by the Exchange in advance. On the trading floor, the NYSE trades in a continuous- auction format, where traders can execute stock transactions on behalf of investors.

They do on occasion approximately 10 percent of the time facilitate the trades by committing their own capital and, as a matter of course, disseminate information to the crowd that helps to bring buyers and sellers together. Until , the right to directly trade shares on the exchange was conferred upon owners of the "seats. In , the number of seats was fixed at , and this number was increased several times over the years.

In , the number was limited to seats. These seats were a sought-after commodity as they conferred the ability to directly trade stock on the NYSE. Seat prices varied widely over the years, generally falling during recessions and rising during economic expansions.

The NYSE now sells one-year licenses to trade directly on the exchange. Since January 24, , all NYSE stocks can be traded via its electronic hybrid market except for a small group of very high-priced stocks.

Customers can now send orders for immediate electronic execution, or route orders to the floor for trade in the auction market. One of the most familiar features of the NYSE is its distinctive bell that rings on the trading floor to signal the start and end of trading each business day. It is considered an honor to be invited to ring the bell to open or close trading for the day.

Originally trading times were signaled by a Chinese gong, but brass bells were introduced when the NYSE moved to its current location in They are operated synchronously from a single control.

The First Stock Ticker was employed in In , the trading floor was opened to women. In the mids, the NYSE Composite Index was created, with a base value of 50 points equal to the yearly close.

This index reflects the value of all stocks trading at the exchange instead of just the 30 stocks included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The NYSE created the Common Stock Index in , and floor data were fully automated. A real-time ticker was introduced at the Market in In , the NYSE Composite Index was relaunched using revised methodology and a new base value of 5, points equal to the yearly close. In , NYSE Hybrid Market was launched, creating a blend of auction and electronic trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA exceeded on January 12, , followed by the Panic of The exchange was closed shortly after the beginning of World War I July 31, , but it partially re-opened on November 28 of that year in order to help the war effort by trading bonds, and completely reopened for stock trading in mid-December.

On September 16, , a bomb exploded on Wall Street close to the NYSE building, killing 33 people and injuring more than The NYSE building and some buildings nearby, such as the JPMorgan Chase building, still have marks on their facades caused by the bombing.

The Black Thursday crash of the Exchange on October 24, , and the sell-off panic which started on Black Tuesday, October 29, are often blamed for precipitating the Great Depression of In an effort to try to restore investor confidence, the Exchange unveiled a point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public on October 31, On October 1, , the exchange was registered as a national-securities exchange with the U.

Securities and Exchange Commission, with a president and a member board. On August 24, , Abbie Hoffman led members of the Yippie movement to the Exchange gallery in a protest.

The protesters threw fistfuls of dollars down to the traders below. On February 18, the NYSE was recognized as not-for-profit organization , and the number of board members was reduced to On October 19, , the DJIA dropped points, a This was a controversial move and led to a quick change in the rule; with trading now halting for an hour, two hours, or the rest of the day when the DJIA drops 10, 20, or 30 percent, respectively. In the afternoon, the percent and percent drops halt trading for a shorter period of time, but a percent drop always closes the exchange for the day.

New York Stock Exchange - Wikipedia

The rationale behind the trading halt was to give investors a chance to reevaluate their positions and stabilize trading. There was a panic on October 27, with a fall of 7. The NYSE was closed from September 11 until September 17, , as a result of the September 11 attacks. On September 17, , NYSE chairman and chief executive Richard Grasso stepped down as a result of controversy concerning the size of his deferred-compensation package.

He was replaced as CEO by John S. Reed, the former chairman of Citigroup. The NYSE announced plans to acquire Archipelago in , in a deal that reorganized the NYSE as a publicly traded, for-profit company. It began trading under the name NYSE Group on March 8, On April 4, , the NYSE Group completed a merger with Euronext, the European combined stock market, thus forming the NYSE Euronext, the first transatlantic stock exchange. In January, NYSE Euronext announced it would acquire the American Stock Exchange.

This acquisition was completed on October 1, On September 15, , also known as "Ugly Monday," the DJIA lost more than points amid fears of bank failures, resulting in a permanent prohibition of naked short-selling and a three-week temporary ban on all short selling of financial stocks.

On Friday, October 10 stock markets crashed across Europe and Asia. Within the first five minutes of the trading session on Wall Street, the DJIA plunged points, falling below to its lowest level since March 17, , and continuing to make violent swings throughout the day. Trading on the NYSE closed with the Dow at 8,, down 1, points, or 18 percent for the week, and after eight days of losses, 40 percent down from its record high on October 9, According to Reto Francioni, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Boerse,.

This transaction brings together two of the most respected and successful exchange operators in the world to lead the way in global capital markets and set the standard for growth, quality and market reach. Clients will have unparalleled access to markets, products, information, world-class technology, clearing services and settlement — globally and around the clock.

The NYSE is a symbol of Wall Street, its first permanent home, and Wall Street itself represents American financial and economic power.

Wall Street can sometimes represent elitism and cut-throat capitalism, but it also stirs feelings of pride about the market economy. Wall Street became the symbol of a country and economic system that many Americans see as having developed not through colonialism and plunder, but through trade, capitalism, and innovation.

The future of the NYSE may be affected by three major factors: The merger of the NYSE and Euronext, and the later merger with Deutsche Boerse, provides a trans-Atlantic connection of the stock and derivatives markets that should encourage more investors to purchase stocks in both the U. Since the NYSE has been losing listings, especially initial preferred offerings IPOs to European exchanges, the merging with European exchanges may regain the fees and trading profits.

Also, in an increasingly challenging economy, when exchanges combine they can become more efficient by cutting staff and sharing technology. Such a global exchange will permit investors to operate from a common trading platform, which may help to stabilize international markets in times of economic crisis.

With the global economic problems that emerged in the latter part of , the NYSE may find itself undergoing increasing regulation. Lack of effective regulation, particularly related to risky loans in the sub-prime mortgage market, has been blamed for the instability in the economy. Greater regulation will inevitably impact the successful operation of the NYSE.

The New York Stock Exchange | NYSE

Provided the technology in the NYSE remains state of the art, it will increasingly play a controlling role in the marketplace. This could act as a counterbalance to the conflicting emotions of human greed and fear, which have contributed to the roller-coaster ride the NYSE often takes when market forces go awry.

Technology properly utilized in the future might offset emotion-driven swings in the markets and encourage confidence in difficult economic times. The NYSE's pioneering efforts in the hybrid market may offer the best scenario in which computerized trading, which has the potential to inspire greater confidence, is still balanced by the human factor in the traditional face to face auction trading environment.

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New York Stock Exchange.

Previous New York Public Library. Next New York University. The New York Stock Exchange building on Broad Street opened on April 22, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 2, Credits New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards.

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New York City , New York. Contents 1 History 2 Trading 2.