What Is the New York Stock Exchange?

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the biggest security exchange in the world, holding various exchange-traded investments. Currently, it hosts around 82% of all S&P 500, while overseeing 70 of the world’s biggest corporations. This publicly traded company offers you a platform where you can buy and sell more than 9 million securities and corporate stocks every day.

How the New York Stock Exchange Started

NYSE started in 1792 on 68 Wall Street. There, a total of 24 traders created the Buttonwood Agreement, outlining the essential rules for trading securities. In the beginning, the New York Stock Exchange was called New York Stock & Exchange Board. In 1863, the name changed to the one it sports today.

In the beginning, only five securities were traded through the New York Stock Exchange. The first company to trade with them was the Bank of New York, which further increased the popularity of the company.

Trades were also local, and they would only collaborate with brokers from New York. Now, they are some of the forex brokers that accept traders from the US and beyond. The only condition is that they meet NYC regulations.

In the beginning, male traders made the entire board of traders. However, in 1967, a female trader joined their ranks. That woman was Muriel Siebert, and she was a fearless trader that was referred to as the First Woman of Finance. She was a pioneer and a symbol for women traders everywhere.

In the year 1961, the New York Stock Exchange turned into a not-for-profit corporation. In 2006, it changed its structure once more and became a publicly traded company. This was also the year when the company adopted the electronic system, allowing traders to make their investments from the comfort of their own homes.

NYSE went through a merger with Euronext in 2007, further increasing its reach. One year later, they purchased the American Stock Exchange as well. NYSE was later on purchased by the Intercontinental Exchange for the price of $8.2 billion.

The NYSE Trading Method

When NYSE was formed, the idea was to make trading easy and consistent for people interested in investments. As a result, trades were made to go by an auction format continuously. The brokers would trade the stocks, whereas the sellers and buyers would set the best prices to auction their securities.

The New York Stock Exchange was highly famous for its trading floor. That being said, most transactions today have shifted to an electronic platform. This will match the buyers and sellers, offering some of the best opportunities for trades. It also allows them to test the platform from home, no longer having to go to the location.

While many of the transactions are done digitally, NYSE remains a hybrid market that allows floor trades as well. This makes it a great opportunity for traders that do not have access to the technology but still wish to carry out their investment.

The NYSE Bells – A Brand Image

Stocks often begin and end at specific times, especially when it comes to day trading. The announcement method that the NYSE uses has gained so much popularity that it has eventually become a symbol.

When the New York Stock Exchange was originally set up, the people there would use a gavel to signal when a day will start and when it will end. Later on, that gavel was replaced with a Chinese gong, which was moved to different locations throughout time.

Eventually, it was changed into the brass bell that we can see today. The New York Stock Exchange uses that bell to signal opening trades at 9:30 AM, with the bells ringing once more at 4:00 PM for closing.

Those bells are a significant part of the NYSE brand, as they are used to announce financial events in NYC and outside. Ringing the bell is considered to be an honor, which is why business executives are often the ones ringing them. That being said, celebrities are also frequently asked to ring it, along with the police and firemen that answered the 9/11 call.

The Bottom Line

The NYSE has a very long history, which makes it the most popular stock exchange in the world. People using their system will likely have high gains, backed up by the company experience.