New York Stock Exchange

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the largest stock exchange in the world. The NYSE contains 8,500 listed companies, including such recognizable brands as Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, and General Electric.http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/ge.html http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/ko.html http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/wmt.html In 2007, the exchange merged with Euronext to form NYSE Euronext. It operates under that name to this day.http://www.nyse.com/about/1088808971270.html

While there are other national stock exchanges in the United States, including the NASDAQ and the S&P 500, the NYSE is the biggest and oldest institution of them all, representing a combined $16.7 trillion in total market capitalization and a daily trading value of $153 billion (as of 2008).http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/1170350259411.html In 2008, the American Stock Exchange became part of the NYSE.http://www.nyse.com/about/history/1089312755484.html

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is the market indicator most used by the NYSE. Each day, a company's stock price is measured using the DJIA and then traded throughout the business day on the stock exchange.http://www.djaverages.com/?view=industrial&page=overview As the price rises and falls, the stock gains or loses. At the end of the day, the last trading price on the exchange is recorded and listed as the closing price. These trading sessions take place on the floor of the NYSE and can become chaotic if a stock or an industry becomes volatile.http://www.investopedia.com/university/stocks/stocks3.asp

The New York Stock Exchange traces its history back to the 1700s when a group of stockbrokers and merchants signed the Buttonwood Agreement. By March 1817, this group of stockbrokers had established their first constitution. On February 18, 1971 the New York Stock Exchange was first incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation. The NYSE Group, a for-profit corporation was established on March 7, 2006. A year later, NYSE Euronext was formed.http://www.nyse.com/about/history/1089312755484.html

Operating hours for the exchange are Monday through Friday from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. The NYSE closes on nine federal holidays, including Martin Luther King Jr Day, Independence Day and Thanksgiving.http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Stocks/New-York-Stock-Exchange/ For tourists who wish to visit the NYSE, it is located at 11 Wall Street in New York City, New York. Inside tours of the building have been discontinued due to security concerns.http://gonyc.about.com/cs/attractions/p/nyse.htm

• 1817: The New York Stock & Exchange Board is establishedhttp://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_chronology_index.html
• 1863: The New York Stock & Exchange Board name shortened to The New York Stock Exchangehttp://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_1860_1899_index.html
• 1943: The NYSE trading floor is open to womenhttp://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_1940_1959_index.html
• 1949: The longest "bull market" begins and lasts eight yearshttp://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_1940_1959_index.html
• 1961: International Federation of Stock Exchanges is organizedhttp://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_1960_1979_index.html
• 1967: Muriel Siebert becomes the first female member of the NYSEhttp://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_1960_1979_index.html
• 1970: Joseph L. Searles III becomes the first African-American NYSE member.http://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_1960_1979_index.html
• 1972: The NYSE closes above 1,000 for the first time in its historyhttp://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_1960_1979_index.html
• 1987: The DJIA drops 508 points, or 22.61%, the largest one day percentage drop in NYSE history at that timehttp://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_1980_1999_index.html
• 2001: The NYSE closes for four days following the September 11 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center in New York City. During the next week, the DJIA lost 684.81 points in one day, breaking its previous one day drop recordhttp://www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_2000_Today_index.html