a company that provides a means for buyers and sellers to trade shares of stock in companies registered for public trading

The NYSE trades in a continuous auction format, where traders can execute stock transactions on behalf of investors. They gather around the appropriate post where a specialist broker, who is employed by an NYSE member firm (that is, he/she is not an employee of the New York Stock Exchange), acts as an auctioneer in an open outcry auction market environment to bring buyers and sellers together and to manage the actual auction.

History

On May 17, 1792, twenty-four stockbrokers gathered under a buttonwood tree at 68 Wall Street to sign an agreement establishing rules for the trading of securities on a commission basis. The Buttonwood Agreement was formalized on March 8, 1817, when stockbrokers formed the New York Stock & Exchange Board (NYS&EB).

signing of the Buttonwood Agreement

The Exchange originally operated out of rented rooms at 40 Wall Street. After that location was destroyed in the Great Fire of New York in 1835, the Exchange moved into temporary headquarters. THE NYS&EB became the New York Stock Exchange in 1863, and moved to 10-12 Broad Street in 1865. The current building at 18 Broad Street opened on April 22, 1903, and has housed the trading floor ever since.

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.

The official website of the New York Stock Exchange is www.nyse.com.

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This page was last updated on August 15, 2018.