The
NewYorkStockExchange
NYSE
The NYSE (New York Stock Exchange)
nicknamed the "Big Board," is a New York City-based stock exchange.
It is the largest stock exchange
in the United States by dollar volume and the second largest by number
of companies listed. Its share volume was exceeded by that of NASDAQ
during the 1990s, but the total market capitalization of companies
listed on the NYSE is five times that of companies listed on NASDAQ. |
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The NYSE is operated by NYSE
Group, which was formed by merger with the fully electronic stock
exchange Archipelago Holdings. The NewYorkStockExchange trading
floor is located at 11 Wall Street, and is comprised of five rooms
used for the facilitation of trading. The main building listed on the
National Register of Historic Places and is located at 18 Broad
Street, between the corners of Wall Street and Exchange Place.
The NYSE trades in a continuous
auction format. There is one specific location on the trading floor
where each listed stock trades. Exchange members interested in buying
and selling a particular stock on behalf of investors gather around
the appropriate post where a specialist broker, who is employed by a
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.
The human interaction and expert
judgment as to order execution differentiates the NYSE from
fully electronic markets. However, in excess of 50% of all order flow
is now delivered to the floor electronically. Recent proposals have
been made to adopt a Hybrid market structure combining elements of
open outcry and electronic markets. The frenzied commotion of men and
women in colored smocks has been captured in several movies, including
Wall Street.
Diversify. This is investment talk for not putting all your eggs in
one basket. Mutual funds offer an excellent alternative for
average investors who don't have enough money to diversify broadly
when buying individual stocks and bonds. |