New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), one of the largest markets in the world for trading stocks and bonds, based in New York City. Trading at the NYSE is initiated by stockbrokers acting on behalf of their clients. These brokers place orders with certain members of the exchange called specialists, who concentrate on trading specific stocks. The broker and the specialist negotiate to arrive at a price for the stock. See also Stock Exchange.

The NYSE began in 1792, when a group of stock and bond brokers gathered in a park in downtown New York City and agreed to meet daily at that location to trade financial instruments, such as stocks and bonds. By 1794 the exchange had moved indoors to the Tontine Coffee House, on the corner of Wall and Water Streets. In 1817 the exchange moved closer to its present Wall Street location, drew up a formal constitution, and named itself the New York Stock and Exchange Board. As New York City became the financial center of the United States during the 19th century, the New York Stock and Exchange Board became one of the most important financial trading centers. By 1863, when it changed its name to the New York Stock Exchange, the exchange was trading the stocks and bonds of the major industrial and railroad corporations of the day. Today, the NYSE is often referred to as the big board because it lists more major corporations than any other exchange in the United States.