The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American
stock exchange
A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...
in the
Financial District
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...
of
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. It is the
largest stock exchange in the world by
market capitalization
Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders.
Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...
,
exceeding $25 trillion in July 2024. The NYSE is owned by
Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) is an American multinational financial services company formed in 2000 that operates global financial exchanges and clearing houses and provides mortgage technology, data and listing services. Listed on the ...
, an American
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
that it also lists (ticker symbol ICE). Previously, it was part of NYSE Euronext (NYX), which was formed by the NYSE's 2007 merger with
Euronext
Euronext N.V. (short for European New Exchange Technology) is a European bourse that provides trading and post-trade services for a range of financial instruments.
Traded assets include regulated equities, exchange-traded funds (ETF), warrant ...
.
According to a
Gallup
Gallup may refer to:
* Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll
* Gallup (surname), a surname
*Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States
** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...
poll conducted in 2022, approximately 58% of American adults reported having money invested in the stock market, either through individual stocks,
mutual funds
A mutual fund is an investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV in Europe ('investmen ...
, or
retirement accounts.
__FORCETOC__
History

The earliest recorded organization of
securities
A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...
trading in New York among
broker
A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller. This may be done for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither ...
s directly dealing with each other can be traced to the
Buttonwood Agreement
The Buttonwood Agreement is the founding document of what is now the New York Stock Exchange and is one of the most important financial documents in U.S. history. The agreement organized securities trading in New York City and was signed on May ...
. Previously, securities exchange had been intermediated by the
auction
An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...
eers, who also conducted more mundane auctions of
commodities
In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that specifically has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them.
Th ...
such as wheat and tobacco.
[ OCRed document unreable] On May 17, 1792, twenty-four brokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement, which set a floor commission rate charged to clients and bound the signers to give preference to the other signers in securities sales. The earliest securities traded were mostly governmental securities such as War Bonds from the Revolutionary War and
First Bank of the United States
The President, Directors and Company of the Bank of the United States, commonly known as the First Bank of the United States, was a National bank (United States), national bank, chartered for a term of twenty years, by the United States Congress ...
stock,
although
Bank of New York
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...
stock was a non-governmental security traded in the early days. The
Bank of North America
The Bank of North America was the first chartered bank in the United States, and served as the country's first ''de facto'' central bank. It was chartered by the Congress of the Confederation on May 26, 1781, and opened in Philadelphia, Pennsy ...
, along with the First Bank of the United States and the Bank of New York, were the first shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1817, the stockbrokers of New York, operating under the
Buttonwood Agreement
The Buttonwood Agreement is the founding document of what is now the New York Stock Exchange and is one of the most important financial documents in U.S. history. The agreement organized securities trading in New York City and was signed on May ...
, instituted new reforms and reorganized. After sending a delegation to
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
to observe the organization of their board of brokers, restrictions on manipulative trading were adopted, as well as formal organs of governance.
After re-forming as the New York Stock and Exchange Board, the broker organization began renting out space exclusively for securities trading, which previously had been taking place at the
Tontine Coffee House
The Tontine Coffee House was a coffeehouse in Manhattan, New York City, established in early 1793. Situated at 82 Wall Street, on the north-west corner of Water Street,Nathans, p. 133 it was built by a group of stockbrokers to serve as a meetin ...
. Several locations were used between 1817 and 1865, when the present location was adopted.
The invention of the
electrical telegraph
Electrical telegraphy is point-to-point distance communicating via sending electric signals over wire, a system primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most wid ...
consolidated markets and New York's market rose to dominance over Philadelphia after weathering some market panics better than other alternatives.
The
Open Board of Stock Brokers
The Open Board of Stock Brokers was an early regional stock exchange in the United States. It was established in 1864, "to profit from the economic and investment boom sparked by the Civil War."
The old Open Board of Stock Brokers was located at ...
was established in 1864 as a competitor to the NYSE. With 354 members, the Open Board of Stock Brokers rivaled the NYSE in membership (which had 533) "because it used a more modern, continuous trading system superior to the NYSE's twice-daily call sessions". The Open Board of Stock Brokers merged with the NYSE in 1869. Robert Wright of ''Bloomberg'' writes that the merger increased the NYSE's members as well as trading volume, as "several dozen regional exchanges were also competing with the NYSE for customers. Buyers, sellers and dealers all wanted to complete transactions as quickly and cheaply as technologically possible and that meant finding the markets with the most trading, or the greatest liquidity in today's parlance. Minimizing competition was essential to keep a large number of orders flowing, and the merger helped the NYSE maintain its reputation for providing superior liquidity."
The
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
greatly stimulated speculative securities trading in New York. By 1869, membership had to be capped, and has been sporadically increased since. The latter half of the nineteenth century saw rapid growth in securities trading.
Securities trade in the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was prone to panics and crashes. Government regulation of securities trading was eventually seen as necessary, with arguably the most dramatic changes occurring in the 1930s after a
major stock market crash occurred near the beginning of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. The NYSE has also imposed additional rules in response to shareholder protection controls, e.g. in 2012, the NYSE imposed rules restricting brokers from voting uninstructed shares.
The
Stock Exchange Luncheon Club
The Stock Exchange Luncheon Club was a members-only dining club, on the seventh floor of the New York Stock Exchange Building at 11 Wall Street in Manhattan. The club was founded on August 3, 1898, and moved from 70 Broadway to 11 Wall Street ...
was situated on the seventh floor from 1898 until its closure in 2006.

On April 21, 2005, the NYSE announced its plans to merge with
Archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
in a deal intended to reorganize the NYSE as a publicly traded company. NYSE's governing board voted to merge with rival Archipelago on December 6, 2005, and became a for-profit, public company. It began trading under the name NYSE Group on March 8, 2006. On April 4, 2007, the NYSE Group completed its merger with Euronext, the European combined stock market, thus forming
NYSE Euronext
NYSE Euronext, Inc. was a Transatlantic relations, transatlantic Multinational corporation, multinational financial services corporation that operated multiple Stock exchange, securities exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext ...
, the first transatlantic stock exchange.
Wall Street
Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
is the leading U.S. money center for international financial activities and the foremost U.S. location for the conduct of wholesale financial services. "It comprises a matrix of wholesale financial sectors, financial markets, financial institutions, and financial industry firms" (Robert, 2002). The principal sectors are securities industry, commercial banking, asset management, and insurance.
Prior to the acquisition of NYSE Euronext by the ICE in 2013, Marsh Carter was the Chairman of the NYSE and the CEO was
Duncan Niederauer. Currently, the chairman is Jeffrey Sprecher. In 2016, NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange Inc. earned $419 million in listings-related revenues.
From its opening until August 2000, all stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange were quoted in
fractional increments of eighths, based on the 17th century Spanish trading system's practice of using
pieces of eight
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight (, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content fine silver. It wa ...
. On August 28, 2000, some stocks were quoted in decimals, and all NYSE stocks were
decimalized
Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10.
Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...
by the end of 2001.
Notable events
20th century
The exchange was closed shortly after the beginning of World War I (July 31, 1914), 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 on December 12, 1914.
On September 16, 1920, the
Wall Street bombing
The Wall Street bombing was an act of terrorism on Wall Street at 12:01 pm on Thursday, September 16, 1920. The blast killed 30 people immediately, and another 10 later died of wounds that they sustained in the blast. There were 143 serio ...
occurred outside the building, killing forty people and injuring hundreds more.
The
Black Thursday
Black Thursday is a term used to refer to typically negative, notable events that have occurred on a Thursday. It has been used in the following cases:
*6 February 1851 – devastating day of bushfires in Victoria, Australia
*21 June 1877 execut ...
crash of the Exchange on October 24, 1929, and the sell-off panic which started on
Black Tuesday, October 29, are often blamed for precipitating the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. In an effort to restore investor confidence, the Exchange unveiled a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public on October 31, 1938.
On October 1, 1934, the exchange was registered as a national securities exchange with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
, with a president and a thirty-three-member board. On February 18, 1971, the non-profit corporation was formed, and the number of board members was reduced to twenty-five.

One of
Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the ...
's well-known publicity stunts took place in 1967, when he led members of the
Yippie
The Youth International Party (YIP), whose members were commonly called Yippies, was an American youth-oriented radical and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the late 1960s. It was founded on D ...
movement to the Exchange's gallery. The provocateurs hurled fistfuls of dollars toward the trading floor below. Some traders booed, and some laughed and waved. Three months later the stock exchange enclosed the gallery with bulletproof glass. Hoffman wrote a decade later, "We didn't call the press; at that time we really had no notion of anything called a media event."

On October 19, 1987, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indice ...
(DJIA) dropped 508 points, a 22.6% loss in a single day, the second-biggest one-day drop the exchange had experienced.
Black Monday
Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes.
Historic events
*1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...
was followed by Terrible Tuesday, a day in which the Exchange's systems did not perform well and some people had difficulty completing their trades.
Subsequently, there was another major drop for the Dow on October 13, 1989—the
Mini-Crash of 1989. The crash was apparently caused by a reaction to a news story of a $6.75 billion leveraged buyout deal for UAL Corporation, the parent company of
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
, which broke down. When the UAL deal fell through, it helped trigger the collapse of the
junk bond
In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit eve ...
market causing the Dow to fall 190.58 points, or 6.91 percent.
Similarly, there was a panic in the financial world during the year of 1997; the
Asian Financial Crisis
The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide economic meltd ...
. Like the fall of many foreign markets, the Dow suffered a 7.18% drop in value (554.26 points) on October 27, 1997, in what later became known as the
1997 Mini-Crash but from which the DJIA recovered quickly. This was the first time that the "
circuit breaker
A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an Electrical network, electrical circuit from damage caused by current in excess of that which the equipment can safely carry (overcurrent). Its basic function is to interr ...
" rule had operated.
21st century
On January 26, 2000, an altercation during filming of the music video for
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...
's "
Sleep Now in the Fire
"Sleep Now in the Fire" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. It was released on November 4, 1999, as the second single from their third studio album, ''The Battle of Los Angeles'' (1999).
The end of the song features a snip ...
", directed by
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...
, caused the doors of the exchange to be closed and the band to be escorted from the site by security
after the members attempted to gain entry into the exchange.
In the
aftermath of the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks transformed Presidency of George W. Bush, the first term of President George W. Bush and led to what he referred to as the war on terror. The accuracy of describing it as a "war" and its political motivations and conseq ...
, the NYSE was closed for four trading sessions, resuming on Monday, September 17, one of the rare times the NYSE was closed for more than one session and only the third time since March 1933. On the first day, the NYSE suffered a 7.1% drop in value (684 points); after a week, it dropped by 14% (1,370 points). An estimated $1.4 trillion was lost within five days of trading. The NYSE was only 5 blocks from
Ground Zero
A hypocenter or hypocentre (), also called ground zero or surface zero, is the point on the Earth's surface directly below a nuclear explosion, meteor air burst, or other mid-air explosion. In seismology, the hypocenter of an earthquake is its p ...
. The same day it was announced that the exchange and the New York Stock Exchange building would be closed to the general public. A practice that continues to the present day.
On May 6, 2010, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its largest intraday percentage drop since the crash on October 19, 1987, with a 998-point loss later being called the
2010 Flash Crash (as the drop occurred in minutes before rebounding). The SEC and CFTC published a report on the event, although it did not come to a conclusion as to the cause. The regulators found no evidence that the fall was caused by erroneous ("fat finger") orders.
On October 29, 2012, the stock exchange was shut down for two days due to
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...
. The last time the stock exchange was closed due to weather for a full two days was on March 12 and 13, 1888.
On May 1, 2014, the stock exchange was fined $4.5 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that it had violated market rules.
On August 14, 2014,
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of c ...
's A Class shares, the highest priced shares on the NYSE, hit $200,000 a share for the first time.
On July 8, 2015, technical issues affected the stock exchange, halting trading at 11:32 am ET. The NYSE reassured stock traders that the outage was "not a result of a cyber breach", and the
Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
confirmed that there was "no sign of malicious activity". Trading eventually resumed at 3:10 pm ET the same day.
On May 25, 2018,
Stacey Cunningham
Stacey Cunningham (born 1974 or 1975) is an American banker who served as the List of presidents of the New York Stock Exchange, 67th president of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from 2018 to 2022. She was the second female president of the ...
, the NYSE's chief operating officer, became the Big Board's 67th president, succeeding Thomas Farley. She is the first female leader in the exchange's 226-year history.
In March 2020, the NYSE announced plans to temporarily move to all-electronic trading on March 23, 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Along with the
PHLX and the
BSE, the NYSE reopened on May 26, 2020.
Building

The main
New York Stock Exchange Building
The New York Stock Exchange Building (also NYSE Building) is the headquarters of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), located in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is composed of two co ...
, built in 1903, is at 18 Broad Street, between the corners of Wall Street and Exchange Place, and was designed in the
Beaux Arts style by
George B. Post
George Browne Post (December15, 1837November28, 1913) was an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. Active from 1869 almost until his death, he was recognized as a master of several contemporary American architectural genres, an ...
.
The adjacent structure at 11 Wall Street, completed in 1922, was designed in a similar style by
Trowbridge & Livingston. The buildings were both designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 1978.
18 Broad Street is also a
New York City designated landmark
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and c ...
.
Official holidays
The New York Stock Exchange is closed on
New Year's Day
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...
,
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and often referred to shorthand as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year. King was the chief spokespers ...
,
Washington's Birthday
Presidents' Day, officially Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February. It is often celebrated to honor all those who served as presidents of the United S ...
,
Good Friday
Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...
,
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May.
It i ...
,
Juneteenth National Independence Day
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States, federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the End of slavery in the United States, ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's n ...
,
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
,
Labor Day
Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...
,
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
, and
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
. When those holidays occur on a weekend, the holiday is observed on the closest weekday. In addition, the Stock Exchange closes early on the day before Independence Day, the day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Eve.
The NYSE averages about 253
trading day
In business, the trading day or regular trading hours (RTH) is the time span that a stock exchange is open, as opposed to electronic or extended trading hours (ETH). For example, the New York Stock Exchange is, as of 2020, open from 9:30 AM East ...
s per year.
Trading
The New York Stock Exchange (sometimes referred to as "The Big Board") provides a means for buyers and sellers to
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...
shares
In financial markets, a share (sometimes referred to as stock or equity) is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation. It can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Sha ...
of
stock
Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
in companies registered for public trading. The NYSE is open for trading Monday through Friday from 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
ET, with the exception of holidays declared by the Exchange in advance. Proposals for round-the-clock trading have been considered by NYSE.
The NYSE trades in a continuous auction format, where traders can execute stock transactions on behalf of investors. They will gather around the appropriate post where a specialist broker, who is employed by a NYSE member firm (that is, they are not an employee of the New York Stock Exchange), acts as an auctioneer in an
open outcry
Open outcry is a method of communication between professionals on a stock exchange or futures exchange, typically on a trading floor. It involves shouting and the use of Hand signaling (stock market), hand signals to transfer information pri ...
auction market environment to bring buyers and sellers together and to manage the actual auction. They do on occasion (approximately 10% 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. The auction process moved toward automation in 1995 through the use of wireless handheld computers (HHC). The system enabled traders to receive and execute orders electronically via wireless transmission. On September 25, 1995, NYSE member Michael Einersen, who designed and developed this system, executed 1000 shares of IBM through this HHC ending a 203-year process of paper transactions and ushering in an era of automated trading.

As of January 24, 2007, all NYSE stocks can be traded via its electronic
hybrid market
A hybrid market was a stock exchange that allowed a stockbroker to choose to have an order executed through either an electronic trading system or a traditional trading floor, where it is completed manually via the more traditional live auction m ...
(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. In the first three months of 2007, in excess of 82% of all order volume was delivered to the floor electronically. NYSE works with US regulators such as the
SEC and
CFTC to coordinate risk management measures in the electronic trading environment through the implementation of mechanisms like circuit breakers and liquidity replenishment points.
Following the
Black Monday
Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes.
Historic events
*1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...
market crash in 1987, NYSE imposed
trading curb
A trading curb (also known as a circuit breaker in Wall Street parlance) is a financial regulatory instrument that is in place to prevent stock market crashes from occurring, and is implemented by the relevant stock exchange organization. Since t ...
s to reduce market volatility and massive panic sell-offs. Following the 2011 rule change, at the start of each trading day, the NYSE sets three circuit breaker levels at levels of 7% (Level 1), 13% (Level 2), and 20% (Level 3) of the average closing price of the
S&P 500
The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 leading companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices and in ...
for the preceding trading day. Level 1 and Level 2 declines result in a 15-minute trading halt unless they occur after 3:25 pm, when no trading halts apply. A Level 3 decline results in trading being suspended for the remainder of the day. (The biggest one-day decline in the S&P 500 since 1987 was the 11.98% drop on
March 16, 2020.)
Floor seats
Until 2005, the right to directly trade shares on the exchange was conferred upon owners of a limited number of "seats". The term comes from the fact that up until the 1870s NYSE members sat in chairs to trade. In 1868, the number of seats was fixed at 533, and this number was increased several times over the years. In 1953, the number of seats was set permanently at 1,366.
These seats were a sought-after commodity as they conferred the ability to directly trade stock on the NYSE, and seat holders were commonly referred to as members of the NYSE. Seat prices varied widely over the years, generally falling during recessions and rising during economic expansions. In January 1927 the cost of seat reached a then-record $185,000. The most expensive inflation-adjusted seat was sold in 1929 for $625,000, which, today, would be over six million dollars. In recent times, seats have sold for as high as $4 million in the late 1990s and as low as $1 million in 2001. In 2005, seat prices shot up to $3.25 million as the exchange entered into an agreement to merge with Archipelago and became a for-profit, publicly traded company. Seat owners received $500,000 in cash per seat and 77,000 shares of the newly formed corporation. The NYSE now sells one-year licenses to trade directly on the exchange. Licenses for
floor trading
Open outcry is a method of communication between professionals on a stock exchange or futures exchange, typically on a trading floor. It involves shouting and the use of hand signals to transfer information primarily about buy and sell order ...
are available for $40,000 and a license for bond trading is available for as little as $1,000 as of 2010.
Neither are resellable, but may be transferable during a change of ownership of a corporation holding a trading license.
The Barnes family is the only known lineage to have five generations of NYSE members: Winthrop H. Barnes (admitted 1894), Richard W.P. Barnes (admitted 1926), Richard S. Barnes (admitted 1951), Robert H. Barnes (admitted 1972), Derek J. Barnes (admitted 2003).
NYSE Composite Index
In the mid-1960s, the
NYSE Composite
The NYSE Composite (^NYA) is a stock market index covering all common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange, including American depositary receipts, real estate investment trusts, tracking stocks, and foreign listings. It includes corporati ...
Index
Index (: indexes or indices) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index''
* The Index, an item on the Halo Array in the ...
(NYSE: NYA) was created, with a base value of 50 points equal to the 1965 yearly close. This was done to reflect the value of all stocks trading at the exchange, in contrast with the then predominant
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indice ...
which tracks just 30 stocks. To raise the profile of the composite index, in 2003, the NYSE set its new base value of 5,000 points equal to the 2002 yearly close. Its close at the end of 2013 was 10,400.32.
Timeline
* In 1792, NYSE acquires its first traded securities.
* In 1817, the constitution of the New York Stock and Exchange Board is adopted. It had also been established by the New York brokers as a formal organization.
* In 1863, the name changed to the New York Stock Exchange.
* In 1865, the
New York Gold Exchange
The New York Gold Exchange was an exchange formed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War for the purpose of creating an open market for transactions involving gold and the government-created paper currency, the greenback. Establi ...
was acquired by the NYSE.
[George Winslow, "New York Gold Market" in '']The Encyclopedia of New York City
''The Encyclopedia of New York City'' is a reference book on New York City, New York. Edited by Columbia University history professor Kenneth T. Jackson, the book was first published in 1995 by the New-York Historical Society and Yale Univers ...
'' (2d ed.: eds. Kenneth T. Jackson, Lisa Keller & Nancy Flood).
* In 1867, stock tickers were first introduced.
* In 1885, the 400 NYSE members in the
Consolidated Stock Exchange
The Consolidated Stock Exchange of New York, also known as the New York Consolidated Stock Exchange or Consolidated,See ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'', Saturday, January 13, 1912, p. 18 was a stock exchange in New York City, New York, in direct competit ...
withdraw from Consolidated over disagreements on exchange trade areas.
* In 1896, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is first published in ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''.
* In 1903, the NYSE moves into new quarters at 18
Broad Street.
* In 1906, the DJIA exceeds 100 on January 12.
* In 1907,
Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange suddenly fell almost ...
.
* In 1909, trading in bonds begins.
* In 1915, basis of quoting and trading in stocks changes from percent of par value to dollars.
* In 1920, a
bomb exploded on Wall Street outside the NYSE building. Thirty-eight killed and hundreds injured.
* In 1923, Poor's Publishing introduced their "Composite Index", today referred to as the
S&P 500
The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 leading companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices and in ...
, which tracked a small number of companies on the NYSE.
* In 1929, the central quote system was established;
Black Thursday
Black Thursday is a term used to refer to typically negative, notable events that have occurred on a Thursday. It has been used in the following cases:
*6 February 1851 – devastating day of bushfires in Victoria, Australia
*21 June 1877 execut ...
, October 24 and
Black Tuesday, October 29 signal the end of the
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western world, Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultura ...
bull market.
* In 1938, NYSE names its first president.
* In 1943, the trading floor is opened to women while men were serving in
WWII
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
* In 1949, the third longest (eight-year)
bull market
A market trend is a perceived tendency of the financial markets to move in a particular direction over time. Analysts classify these trends as ''secular'' for long time-frames, ''primary'' for medium time-frames, and ''secondary'' for short time ...
begins.
* In 1952, Saturday trading hours are eliminated, establishing the five-day trading week.
* In 1954, the DJIA surpasses its 1929 peak in
inflation-adjusted
In economics, nominal value refers to value measured in terms of absolute money amounts, whereas real value is considered and measured against the actual goods or services for which it can be exchanged at a given time. Real value takes into acco ...
dollars.
* In 1956, the DJIA closes above 500 for the first time on March 12.
* In 1957, after Poor's Publishing merged with the Standard Statistics Bureau, the Standard & Poors composite index grew to track 500 companies on the NYSE, becoming known as the S&P 500.
* In 1966, NYSE begins a composite index of all listed common stocks. This is referred to as the "Common Stock Index" and is transmitted daily. The starting point of the index is 50. It is later renamed the NYSE Composite Index.
* In 1967,
Muriel Siebert
Muriel Faye Siebert (September 12, 1928 – August 24, 2013) was an American businesswoman who was the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the first woman to head one of the NYSE's member firms. She joined the 1, ...
becomes the first female member of the New York Stock Exchange.
* In 1967, protesters led by
Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the ...
throw mostly fake dollar bills at traders from gallery, leading to the installation of bullet-proof glass.
* In 1970, the
Securities Investor Protection Corporation
The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC ) is a federally mandated, non-profit, member-funded, United States government corporation created under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) of 1970 that mandates membership of most ...
was established.
* In 1971, NYSE incorporated and recognized as Not-for-Profit organization.
* In 1971, the
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
was founded and competes with the NYSE as the world's first electronic stock market. To date, the NASDAQ is the second-largest exchange in the world by market capitalization, behind only the NYSE.
* In 1972, the DJIA closes above 1,000 for the first time on November 14.
* In 1977, foreign brokers are admitted to NYSE.
* In 1980, the
New York Futures Exchange was established.
* In 1987,
Black Monday
Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes.
Historic events
*1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...
, October 19, sees the second-largest one-day DJIA percentage drop (22.6%, or 508 points) in history.
* In 1987, membership in the NYSE reaches a record price of $1.5 million.
* In 1989, On September 14, seven members of
ACT-UP
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...
, The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, entered the NYSE and protested by chaining themselves to the balcony overlooking the trading floor and unfurling a banner, "SELL WELCOME", in reference to drug manufacturer Burroughs Wellcome. Following the protest,
Burroughs Wellcome
GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...
reduced the price of
AZT
Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), was the first antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent vertica ...
(a drug used by people living with HIV and AIDS) by over 30%.
* In 1990, the longest (ten-year)
bull market
A market trend is a perceived tendency of the financial markets to move in a particular direction over time. Analysts classify these trends as ''secular'' for long time-frames, ''primary'' for medium time-frames, and ''secondary'' for short time ...
begins.
* In 1991, the DJIA exceeds 3,000.
* In 1995, the DJIA exceeds 5,000.
* In 1996, real-time ticker introduced.
* In 1997, on October 27, a sell-off in Asia's stock markets hurts the U.S. markets as well; DJIA sees the largest one-day ''point'' drop of 554 (or 7.18%) in history.
* In 1999, the DJIA exceeds 10,000 on March 29.
* In 2000, the DJIA peaks at 11,722.98 on January 14; first NYSE global index is launched under the ticker NYIID.

* In 2001, trading in fractions () ends, replaced by decimals (increments of $0.01, see
Decimalization
Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10.
Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...
);
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
occur causing NYSE to close for four sessions.
* In 2003,
NYSE Composite
The NYSE Composite (^NYA) is a stock market index covering all common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange, including American depositary receipts, real estate investment trusts, tracking stocks, and foreign listings. It includes corporati ...
Index relaunched and value set equal to 5,000 points.
* In 2006, NYSE and
ArcaEx
NYSE Arca, previously known as ArcaEx, an abbreviation of Archipelago Exchange, is an exchange on which both stocks and options are traded. It was owned by Intercontinental Exchange. It merged with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2006 and ...
merge, creating
NYSE Arca
NYSE Arca, previously known as ArcaEx, an abbreviation of Archipelago Exchange, is an exchange on which both stocks and options are traded. It was owned by Intercontinental Exchange. It merged with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2006 and ...
and forming the publicly owned, for-profit NYSE Group, Inc.; in turn, NYSE Group merges with
Euronext
Euronext N.V. (short for European New Exchange Technology) is a European bourse that provides trading and post-trade services for a range of financial instruments.
Traded assets include regulated equities, exchange-traded funds (ETF), warrant ...
, creating the first trans-Atlantic stock exchange group; DJIA tops 12,000 on October 19.
* In 2007, US President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
shows up unannounced to the Floor about an hour and a half before a
Federal Open Market Committee
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is a committee within the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) that is charged under United States law with overseeing the nation's open market operations (e.g., the Fed's buying and selling of United Stat ...
interest-rate decision on January 31; NYSE announces its merger with the
American Stock Exchange
NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known ...
; NYSE Composite closes above 10,000 on June 1;
DJIA
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indice ...
exceeds 14,000 on July 19 and closes at a peak of 14,164.53 on October 9.
* In 2008, the DJIA loses more than 500 points on September 15 amid fears of bank failures, resulting in a permanent prohibition of
naked short selling
Naked short selling, or naked shorting, is the practice of short-selling a tradable asset of any kind without first borrowing the asset from someone else or ensuring that it can be borrowed. When the seller does not obtain the asset and deli ...
and a three-week temporary ban on all
short selling
In finance, being short in an asset means investing in such a way that the investor will profit if the market value of the asset falls. This is the opposite of the more common Long (finance), long Position (finance), position, where the inves ...
of financial stocks; in spite of this, record volatility continues for the next two months, culminating at -year market lows.
* In 2009, the second longest and current
bull market
A market trend is a perceived tendency of the financial markets to move in a particular direction over time. Analysts classify these trends as ''secular'' for long time-frames, ''primary'' for medium time-frames, and ''secondary'' for short time ...
begins on March 9 after the
DJIA
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indice ...
closes at 6,547.05 reaching a 12-year low; DJIA returns to 10,015.86 on October 14.
* In 2013, the DJIA closes above 2007 highs on March 5; DJIA closes above 16,500 to end the year.
* In 2014, the DJIA closes above 17,000 on July 3 and above 18,000 on December 23.
* In 2015, the DJIA achieved an all-time high of 18,351.36 on May 19.
* In 2015, the DJIA dropped over 1,000 points to 15,370.33 soon after open on August 24, 2015, before bouncing back and closing at 15,795.72, a drop of over 669 points.
* In 2016, the DJIA hits an all-time high of 18,873.6.
* In 2017, the DJIA reaches 20,000 for the first time (on January 25).
* In 2018, the DJIA reaches 25,000 for the first time (on January 4). On February 5, the DJIA dropped 1,175 points, making it the largest point drop in history.
* In 2020, the NYSE temporarily transitioned to electronic trading due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Merger, acquisition, and control
In October 2008,
NYSE Euronext
NYSE Euronext, Inc. was a Transatlantic relations, transatlantic Multinational corporation, multinational financial services corporation that operated multiple Stock exchange, securities exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext ...
completed acquisition of the
American Stock Exchange
NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known ...
(AMEX) for $260 million in stock.
On February 15, 2011, NYSE and announced their merger to form a new company, as yet unnamed, wherein shareholders would have 60% ownership of the new entity, and
NYSE Euronext
NYSE Euronext, Inc. was a Transatlantic relations, transatlantic Multinational corporation, multinational financial services corporation that operated multiple Stock exchange, securities exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext ...
shareholders would have 40%.
On February 1, 2012, the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
blocked the merger of NYSE with , after commissioner
Joaquín Almunia
Joaquín Almunia Amann (born 17 June 1948) is a Spanish politician and former member of the European Commission. During his tenure in the two Barroso Commissions, he was European commissioner responsible for economic and monetary affairs (2004� ...
stated that the merger "would have led to a near-monopoly in European financial derivatives worldwide". Instead, and NYSE would have to sell either their
Eurex
Eurex Exchange is a German derivatives exchange which primarily offers trading in European based derivatives. The products traded on this exchange vary from German and Swiss debt instruments to European stocks and various stock indexes. All tran ...
derivatives or
LIFFE
The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE, pronounced 'life') was a futures exchange based in London. In 2014, following a series of takeovers, LIFFE became part of Intercontinental Exchange, and was renamed Inter ...
shares in order to not create a monopoly. On February 2, 2012, NYSE Euronext and agreed to scrap the merger.
In April 2011,
Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) is an American multinational financial services company formed in 2000 that operates global financial exchanges and clearing houses and provides mortgage technology, data and listing services. Listed on the ...
(ICE), an American
futures exchange
A futures exchange or futures market is a central financial exchange where people can trade standardized futures contracts defined by the exchange. Futures contracts are derivatives contracts to buy or sell specific quantities of a commodity or ...
, and
NASDAQ OMX Group
Nasdaq, Inc. is an American multinational financial services corporation that owns and operates three stock exchanges in the United States: the namesake Nasdaq stock exchange (on which it is also listed), the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, and ...
had together made an
unsolicited proposal to buy NYSE Euronext for approximately $11 billion, a deal in which NASDAQ would have taken control of the stock exchanges.
NYSE Euronext rejected this offer twice, and it was finally terminated after the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
indicated their intention to block the deal due to
antitrust
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
concerns.
[
In December 2012, ICE proposed to buy NYSE Euronext in a ]stock swap
In corporate finance, a stock swap is the exchange of one equity-based asset for another, where, during the merger or acquisition, the swap provides an opportunity to pay with stock rather than with cash; see .
Overview
The acquiring company ...
with a valuation of $8 billion.[ NYSE Euronext shareholders would receive either $33.12 in cash, or $11.27 in cash and approximately a sixth of a share of ICE. ]Jeffrey Sprecher
Jeffrey Craig Sprecher (, , born February 23, 1955) is an American businessman, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.
Early life
Sprecher was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the ...
, the chairman and CEO of ICE, would retain those positions, but four members of the NYSE board of directors would be added to the ICE board.
On January 24, 2023, a glitch in NYSE caused panic due to unintentional trade orders opened and closed in more than 250 securities.
Opening and closing bells
The NYSE's opening and closing bells mark the beginning and the end of each trading day. The opening bell is rung at 9:30 am ET to mark the start of the day's trading session. At 4 pm ET the closing bell is rung and trading for the day stops. There are bells located in each of the four main sections of the NYSE that all ring at the same time once a button is pressed. There are three buttons that control the bells, located on the control panel behind the podium which overlooks the trading floor. The main bell, which is rung at the beginning and end of the trading day, is controlled by a green button. The second button, colored orange, activates a single-stroke bell that is used to signal a moment of silence. A third, red button controls a backup bell which is used in case the main bell fails to ring.
The ringing of the bells is usually accompanied with applause
Applause (Latin '','' to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together. Audiences usually applaud after a performance, such as a concert, speech or ...
and is often done by VIPs and celebrities
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
(See pictures and the section "Notable bell-ringers").
History
The signal to start and stop trading was not always a bell; a gavel
A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet/hammer commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially ...
was the original signal, which is still utilized alongside the bell. However, the gavel is frequently damaged. During the late 1800s, the NYSE decided to switch the gavel for a gong to signal the day's beginning and end. After the NYSE changed to its present location at 18 Broad Street in 1903, the gong was switched to the bell format that is currently being used. The bell itself was produced by Bevin Brothers in East Hampton, Connecticut
East Hampton is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 12,717 at the 2020 census. The town center village is listed as a census-designa ...
, which is known colloquially as "Bell Town" for its history of bell foundries and metal toy manufacturing.
A common sight today is the highly publicized events in which a celebrity or executive from a corporation stands behind the NYSE podium and pushes the button that signals the bells to ring. Due to the amount of coverage that the opening/closing bells receive, many companies coordinate new product launches and other marketing-related events to start on the same day as when the company's representatives ring the bell. It was only in 1995 that the NYSE began having special guests ring the bells on a regular basis; prior to that, ringing the bells was usually the responsibility of the exchange's floor managers.
Notable bell-ringers
Many of the people who ring the bell are business executives whose companies trade on the exchange, usually to announce new products, acquisitions, mergers or public offerings. However, there have also been many famous people from outside the world of business that have rung the bell, such as the Mayor of New York City
The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...
and the President of South Africa
The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence F ...
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
. Two United Nations Secretaries General have also rung the bell. On April 27, 2006, Secretary-General Kofi Annan rang the opening bell to launch the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment
Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI or PRI) is a United Nations-supported international network of financial institutions working together to implement its six aspirational principles, often referenced as "the Principles". Its goal is to ...
. On July 24, 2013, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rang the closing bell to celebrate the NYSE joining the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative
The Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative promoting corporate investment in sustainable development. It is a project of the United Nations (UN) co-organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Na ...
. President-Elect
An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Un ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
rang the bell on December 12, 2024 after being named the ''Time'' Person of the Year.
Celebrities that have rung the bell include athletes such as Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...
of the New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
and Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...
, entertainers such as rapper Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
, members of ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
's College GameDay crew, singer and actress Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...
and members of the rock band Kiss
A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
.
In addition there have been many bell-ringers selected for their public contributions, such as members of the New York City Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
and New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...
following the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, members of the United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
serving overseas, and participants in various charitable organizations.
Several fictional characters, like mascots of companies and characters from movies and television or toys made by companies listed on the exchange, have rung the bell as well, including Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...
, the Pink Panther
''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the film ''The Pink Panthe ...
, Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head is an American toy produced by Hasbro since 1952. It consists of a plastic model of a potato "head" to which a variety of plastic parts can attach; typically ears, eyes, shoes, hat, nose, mustache, pipe (1952–1987), pants (19 ...
, the Aflac
Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company) is an American insurance company and is the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States. It was founded in 1955 and is based in Columbus, Georgia. In the U.S., it ...
Duck, Gene and Jailbreak of ''The Emoji Movie
''The Emoji Movie'' is a 2017 American animated comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was directed by Tony Leondis from a screenplay he co-wrote with Eric Si ...
'', and Darth Vader
Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...
.
See also
* Aftermath of the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks transformed Presidency of George W. Bush, the first term of President George W. Bush and led to what he referred to as the war on terror. The accuracy of describing it as a "war" and its political motivations and conseq ...
* Economy of New York City
The economy of New York City encompasses the largest municipal and regional economy in the United States. In 2023, the New York City Metropolitan Area generated a GMP of US$2.299 trillion. Anchored by Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York ...
* Economy of the United States
The United States has a highly developed mixed economy. It is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and second largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). As of 2025, it has the world's seventh highest nominal GDP per capita and ninth ...
* List of American Exchanges
* List of stock exchange mergers in the Americas
This is a list of major stock exchange mergers and acquisitions in the Americas. It also features the name of any resultant stock exchanges from mergers or acquisitions. According to Robert E. Wright of ''Bloomberg'' in 2013, historians assert tha ...
* List of presidents of the New York Stock Exchange
This is a list of presidents of the New York Stock Exchange.
References
{{reflist, 30em
External linksPresidents and Chairmen of the New York Stock Exchange(PDF)
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed " ...
* List of stock exchange trading hours
This is a list of major stock exchanges. Those futures exchanges that also offer trading in securities besides trading in futures contracts may be listed both here and in the list of futures exchanges.
There are twenty one stock exchanges in the ...
* Rule 48
Rule 48, also known as Exemptive Relief — Extreme Market Volatility Condition, was a mechanism used by the New York Stock Exchange to ease market opening while volatility is high. It may have the effect of pre-empting trading at disrupted prices ...
* Series 14 exam
The Series 14 – NYSE Compliance Official exam is a qualification examination administered to Compliance officer, compliance officials at New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) registered broker-dealers. The 110-question test (assessment), test is inten ...
* Trading day
In business, the trading day or regular trading hours (RTH) is the time span that a stock exchange is open, as opposed to electronic or extended trading hours (ETH). For example, the New York Stock Exchange is, as of 2020, open from 9:30 AM East ...
* U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
* List of stock exchanges in the Americas
This is a list of active stock exchanges in the Americas. Stock exchanges in Latin America (where Spanish and Portuguese prevail) use the term ''Bolsa de Valores'', meaning "bag" or "purse" of "values". (compare Börse in German or bourse i ...
* List of stock market crashes and bear markets
This is a list of stock market and bear markets. The difference between the two relies on speed (how fast declines occur) and length (how long they last). Stock market crashes are quick and brief, while bear markets are slow and prolonged. Those ...
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Financial services companies established in 1817
1817 establishments in New York (state)
Stock exchanges in the United States
Companies based in New York City
Financial services companies based in New York City
American companies established in 1817
Intercontinental Exchange
2006 mergers and acquisitions
2012 mergers and acquisitions