New York Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in the United States. Brokers and specialists on the exchange buy and sell shares of stock in most of the largest U.S. corporations and many companies headquartered outside the United States.
The New York Stock Exchange, often called the NYSE or the Big Board, sets standards for those who want to trade there. All members must pass a written examination. They also must register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a U.S. government agency that administers and enforces federal laws governing the purchase and sale of stocks and bonds.
The New York Stock Exchange traces its beginnings to 1792, when a group of brokers and merchants gathered on Wall Street, in New York City, and agreed to trade securities on a commission basis. They called their agreement the Buttonwood Agreement after the buttonwood tree under which they met. The arrangement developed into a formal organization, the New York Stock and Exchange Board, in 1817. This group changed its name to the New York Stock Exchange in 1863.
In 2006, the New York Stock Exchange merged with Archipelago Holdings, Inc., an electronic stock-trading company. The stock trades actually executed on the exchange had declined for years, and the NYSE wanted to gain a foothold in the fast-growing electronic-trading market. The two companies combined to form a new firm, the NYSE Group, Inc. The exchange became a for-profit, publicly traded company for the first time. Later that year, the NYSE Group announced plans to purchase Euronext, a European stock market. In 2007, the holding company NYSE Euronext was created from the merger of the NYSE Group, Inc. and Euronext N.V. The company NYSE Euronext then operated both the New York Stock Exchange and the Euronext exchange. In 2008, NYSE Euronext acquired the American Stock Exchange, which was initially renamed NYSE Alternext U.S. LLC, and later, NYSE Amex. It is now called NYSE MKT, LLC. In 2013, IntercontinentalExchange Group, Inc. (ICE) acquired NYSE Euronext. ICE then sold the Euronext exchange, which again became a stand-alone company.
The NYSE stands at the corner of Wall and Broad streets in New York City.
See also Stock exchange .
