New York Stock Exchange (NYSE): What It Is and How It Works

With more than 100 different stock exchanges around the world, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) remains the largest stock exchange and the world’s leading financial center. As a result, it is the one the financial community follows most closely. Want to broaden your investment horizons and invest on the New York Stock Exchange? Here is what you need to know.

What Is the New York Stock Exchange?

Put simply, the New York Stock Exchange is an equity market. As its name suggests, it is located in New York, more precisely on Wall Street (Manhattan). That is also where its nickname comes from: by metonymy, it is often simply called Wall Street.

As mentioned above, the NYSE is the largest stock market in the world, both in terms of market capitalization and trading volume.

Founded on May 17, 1792, the New York stock market is generally divided into two entities: the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. Both are located in Manhattan.

As you can see, the New York Stock Exchange goes by several names. So what is it called? NYSE, New York Stock Exchange or Wall Street: that is the answer.

If this topic interests you, also see “New York Stock Exchange Closing Time” and “New York Stock Exchange Holidays“.

Why Is It So Successful?

People often say that the New York Stock Exchange is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world. But why? What really makes the US stock market so successful?

There are many reasons.

Its Market Capitalization

First of all, if Wall Street is seen as the emblem of high finance, it is largely thanks to its market capitalization: in total, it represents more than $30 trillion.

That is more than 10 times the total capitalization of the Paris stock exchange. With its $30 trillion, the NYSE lists the shares of more than 2,700 companies.

As we said, the NYSE’s success is partly due to its current capitalization. So we have studied and compiled the 40 largest companies by market capitalization listed on the NYSE.

Trading Volumes

The New York Stock Exchange’s success is also based on the volumes traded on the market. The American giant NYSE sees trading volume of $1.52 trillion every month, which secures it an unassailable first place among the world’s stock markets.

A Diverse Range of Participants

It is also important to know that the New York Stock Exchange is considered one of the best thanks to the diversity of its participants. From individual investors to the largest institutional investors, anyone can trade or invest there.

On the NYSE, you can see several types of participants. First, there are buyers and sellers of shares, the main players on the exchange, who make the daily trading of financial instruments possible.

You will also find institutional investors on Wall Street, mainly institutions such as investment banks, insurance companies and asset managers. They play a vital role in finance and the stock market.

Many retail investors also take part in the New York stock market, mainly people like you and me who want to build wealth or grow their savings.

What Are the US Financial Markets?

Broadly speaking, the New York stock market has 4 regulated markets:

• the NYSE, or New York Stock Exchange: the main market of the New York stock market, where the largest asset classes are traded. This is where large and mid-sized companies are listed. For more information, see our definition of the New York Stock Exchange.
• the Nasdaq: the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations is the second-largest US financial market. It is known as the first electronic stock market. It is made up mainly of telecom, technology and internet companies, but companies in industry, transportation and biopharmaceuticals are also listed there.
• the NYSE Amex: Amex stands for American Stock Exchange. Unlike the NYSE, smaller companies can be listed there, generally because its rules are more flexible. It is home in particular to small companies, including foreign ones.
• the NYSE Arca: a multilateral platform that handles trading in stocks and options.

What Instruments Does the NYSE Offer?

Thinking of investing on the New York Stock Exchange? It offers several types of instruments that can match your needs and investment horizons: stocks, ETFs, bonds, forex and options.

Stocks on the NYSE

Here is a list of major stocks that are worth investing in today:

• Google: the company belongs to its parent company, Alphabet. Investing in Google shares is an attractive long-term investment today. For several years, the former start-up and its share price have grown exponentially, so buying Google shares is recommended today.
• Facebook: who doesn’t know Facebook, the global social media giant? Although the company started in 2004, it remains one of the companies worth investing in in 2025. What’s more, buying Facebook shares is not difficult.
• Apple: retail and institutional investors alike are rushing to Apple shares. The company is one of the stock market’s greatest success stories and one of the few tech companies with consistently strong profitability.
• Microsoft: in the tech sector, the multinational Microsoft has shares that attract many investors. Although the company went through difficult times from 2007 to 2013, its peak is far from over today. Buying Microsoft shares is therefore an attractive investment if you plan to invest your savings now.
• Boeing: interested in aerospace? Why not invest in Boeing? The company operates in a sector with little competition, which gives it a good future as an investment. It therefore attracts more and more followers, from institutional investors to retail investors. Every investor has their own profile and risk tolerance. For those with a limited appetite for risk, investing in a stable environment is essential, exactly like the one Boeing shares offer.
• Groupon: specializing mainly in e-commerce, Groupon is an American company present around the world. It offers 3 main categories of services: local deals, goods and travel. Despite strong competition in the same sector, buying Groupon shares remains attractive.
• Amazon: who doesn’t know the company that revolutionized e-commerce? The giant Amazon keeps growing considerably, having taken off with the dot-com boom. And the company hasn’t stopped there: it keeps broadening its horizons and diversifying its activities to retain customers and win new ones. We can therefore say that Amazon shares still have a bright future. So why not invest?
• eBay: the US economy owes its growth to companies like eBay. The online auction site was one of the first to revolutionize e-commerce. Competition is fierce with Amazon, Rakuten Inc, Alibaba Group and even Google. So before investing, take care to find out all the necessary information about the company and its shares.
• The Coca-Cola Company (buy Coca-Cola shares): present at almost every major sporting event for generations, The Coca-Cola Company owes its success to its flagship product, Coca-Cola. The brand has 80 production sites around the world. On the stock market, this global leader in soft drinks holds an important place. If you want to invest, you can very well turn to The Coca-Cola Company’s shares.

Of course, this list is not exhaustive. There are many other stocks available and attractive for new investors; in fact, it would be impossible to give a complete list of US stocks.

ETFs on the NYSE

For some time now, investors in the US market have been able to invest in newer assets: ETFs (exchange-traded funds), relatively recent products on the US financial market.

ETFs are advantageous for every type of investor. First, they are a very effective way to get started in the US market (low transaction costs). They also allow investors to diversify their holdings and therefore reduce risk.

There are now many exchange-traded funds. To give you an idea of which funds to invest in, here are the top 3 most popular by size:

• The SPDR S&P 500: probably the largest and most actively traded ETF on the New York Stock Exchange, and certainly the largest tracker in the world. It is designed to track the S&P 500 index.
• The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF: with more than $150 billion, the iShares Core S&P 500 is the second-largest ETF.
• The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF: on the New York Stock Exchange, the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF is the most popular index fund. It is considered the third-largest ETF in the world: in 2017, it recorded more than $81.9 billion.

P.S.: For those just starting out on the stock market, an index fund is a type of investment designed to match the return of a specific stock index as closely as possible. According to legendary investor Warren Buffett, investing in index funds is a very safe way to get started on the stock market.

Bonds on the NYSE

Newcomers often struggle to tell stocks and bonds apart. A share is simply a title of ownership in a company: by buying a share, you own a fraction of the company’s capital.

A bond, on the other hand, is a sum of money lent to an issuer, which can be a company, a local authority or even the government.

By investing in the various bonds on the New York Stock Exchange, you lend money to an issuer, but you do not own it. In return, that money earns you interest and is repaid on a date set in advance.

Options on the NYSE

• In simple terms, options are derivatives. They give the right to buy or sell a certain quantity of an underlying asset, such as stocks, currencies or commodities.
• On the New York Stock Exchange, investors are mainly interested in American options, which let investors exercise their right at any time up to the expiration date.
• Like any other type of investment, investing in options involves risks: the risk of losing your stake, liquidity risk and counterparty risk.

If you plan to trade or invest in options on the New York Stock Exchange, you should adopt good practices before investing.

• For example, you should have solid knowledge of financial markets. The options market on the New York Stock Exchange calls for experienced investors who know more about the assets underlying the option.
• You also need to make sure you have carefully considered your investment objectives. In the short term, options are speculative products, so assessing your risk tolerance is also essential.
• As you dig deeper into the options market, pay particular attention to the choices available to you: indices, stocks, currencies or commodities.

Finally, never lose sight of risk when investing in options, especially the risk of losing your stake. Pay particular attention to your method, because everything can change in just a few seconds.

Stock Market Indices on the NYSE

Stock market indices are instruments designed to identify the general trends of the market as accurately as possible. They are usually made up of groups of stocks.

Their role is therefore to measure the performance of a market or sector. If you want to manage your portfolio as a new investor, using these instruments is essential.

Here are the main stock indices on the New York Stock Exchange:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average
• S&P 500
• Nasdaq
• Russell 2000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, or DJI30, is the flagship index of the New York Stock Exchange. It includes the 30 largest listed companies in the United States. Created in 1896, it is the oldest stock index and therefore the most widely used.

The 30 companies it represents are among the most influential in the world. The Dow Jones is therefore still considered a benchmark index that can effectively gauge the US market, and investing in it is strongly recommended.

Want to trade this index? Here is a list of the 30 companies that make it up.

The S&P 500

As its name suggests, the S&P 500, or Standard & Poor’s 500, includes 500 US listed companies, the largest on US exchanges by market capitalization.

According to investors, it is the index that most faithfully reflects the performance of the US market. In this respect, it quickly overtook the Dow Jones, even though it was created more recently, in 1920.

So if you want to succeed on the stock market, you first need to learn how to analyze and trade this index. We cover this further below.

The Nasdaq

Besides being the second-largest US market after the NYSE, the Nasdaq (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is also a stock index that makes it easier to measure market performance. Together with the Dow Jones and the S&P 500, the Nasdaq is one of the 3 most closely followed indices on the US stock market.

It is divided into 2 main indices:

• the Nasdaq Composite: a fairly volatile index that includes all companies listed on the Nasdaq stock market. Novavax Inc (buy Novavax shares) and many other companies are part of this index.
• the Nasdaq 100: as its name suggests, the Nasdaq 100 includes the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq. The main ones are: Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft Corporation, Facebook, Uber, Intel Corporation, Cisco Systems, Nvidia Corporation, Netflix, Comcast Corporation, Adobe Systems, Amgen, Texas Instruments, Booking Holdings Incorporated, PayPal Holdings, Gilead Sciences, Baidu, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Qualcomm, ASML Holdings NV, Starbucks Corporation, Twenty-First Century Fox, The Kraft Heinz Company, Micron Technology, Vodafone Group PLC, Charter Communications Inc, Biogen, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Automatic Data Processing, CSX Corporation, Mondelez International, Celgene Corporation.

It is always advisable to research companies before placing a trade or making an investment.

The Russell 2000

Another index is often overlooked, even though it gives good visibility on the strength of the US market: the Russell 2000. It is also one of the major indices of the US stock market, and many investors watch it very closely to get a better view of the market.

The Russell 2000 is made up of small caps, meaning small-company stocks: the 2,000 most significant small caps on the market.

Like its peers (the Dow Jones and the S&P 500), the Russell 2000 is weighted by the market capitalization of its components. In other words, the 2,000 companies in the Russell index do not contribute equally.

Thinking of investing in this index? Here are the top 10 companies in it:

1. Caesars Entertainment
2. Penn National Gaming
3. Mirati Therapeutics
4. Sunrun
5. Plug Power
6. Appian Corp
7. Denali Therapeutics
8. Invitae Corp
9. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical
10. Restoration Hardware

These companies may seem unfamiliar because, as we said, they are relatively small. As a result, the Russell 2000 can experience sharper volatility than other indices such as the S&P 500. The companies in it are growth companies, often newly listed.

So why do investors keep watching this index closely?

Even though these companies are mostly small, they still offer fairly high growth potential, often higher than that of large companies.

How to Invest in the Market

Since the NYSE is a key indicator of the global economy, investing in it is certainly tempting. Are you a beginner who wants to get started investing and work toward financial freedom? This section explains how to invest in the US market.

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Buying US Stocks

Have you opened your trading account? Then it’s time to get started with trading. First, download the trading platform you chose when opening your account, MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5. You can then get a feel for the US stock market, for example by buying or selling shares.

What’s more, the broker Vantage gives its users access to the 50 largest US listed companies, which you can trade from just $6 per order.

The Best Time to Trade on the NYSE

Many people may not know it, but if you want to make money on the New York Stock Exchange, it pays to choose the right time of day.

On the US market, the best time is between 10:00 and 11:30 a.m. We recommend avoiding the first 30 minutes after the market opens. During that time, the market is still very volatile as traders adjust their positions to the overnight news.

Where Is the NYSE Located?

As its name suggests, the New York Stock Exchange is in New York, more precisely at 11 Wall Street. That is the address of the New York Stock Exchange, where share trading takes place.

The NYSE’s headquarters, however, is located at 18 Broad Street, near Wall Street, in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District.

How Does the NYSE Work?

In this section, we explain in more detail how the New York Stock Exchange works. We cover the exchange’s opening and closing hours, the steps and methods for trading on the NYSE and this year’s 2025 holidays.

Stock Exchange Opening and Closing Hours

As a place where stocks are traded, the New York Stock Exchange has opening and closing hours. Traders and investors can buy or sell shares between those times. So when does the New York Stock Exchange open and close?

• The New York Stock Exchange is open Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., or 3:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Paris time.
• The exchange is therefore closed outside these hours.

When the markets open and close, bells ring to mark the start and end of the trading day. Since the 1870s, the Wall Street bell has been rung by all kinds of market participants: individual investors, company CEOs and even celebrities are invited to take part in this symbolic ritual of the US market.

Pre-Market Trading

If you are new to the stock market, you are probably wondering what pre-market trading is. As the name implies, it is the period before the market officially opens. On the NYSE, pre-market runs from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. New York time, or 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Paris time.

During this pre-market period, you can place orders without any trades being executed. All orders placed (buying or selling shares) are recorded in the order book.

Be careful: placing orders before everyone else may be appealing, but pre-market trading is costly and risky. You do not have concrete information during this period. You are only told:

• the number of shares available on the market (to buy or sell)
• the number of shares available at the “best limit” (to buy or sell)
• the theoretical opening price at time “t”, with “crushed” limits

As you can see, this data is not enough to identify trends with any certainty. But the greater the risk, the greater the potential gain. Still, we advise you to stay vigilant if you want to try pre-market trading on the NYSE.

2025 Holiday Calendar

To organize your trading, you need to know everything about the US market, including its holidays. Here is the calendar of days when the exchange is closed in 2025 for this year’s holidays:

• New Year’s Day: Friday, January 1, 2025
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Monday, January 18, 2025
• Washington’s Birthday: Monday, February 15, 2025
• Good Friday: Friday, April 2, 2025
• Memorial Day: Monday, May 31, 2025
• Independence Day holiday, as July 4 falls on a Sunday: Monday, July 5, 2025
• Labor Day: Monday, September 6, 2025
• Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 25, 2025
• The day after Thanksgiving: Friday, November 26, 2025, early close at 1:00 p.m., or 7:00 p.m. Paris time
• Christmas Eve: Friday, December 24, 2025

Buying or Selling Shares on the NYSE

• The New York Stock Exchange works mainly through buying and selling shares. If a company wants to list its shares on the US market, for example, it must register in order to raise funds. Once registered, its shares become available for trading.
• Trading usually takes place on the trading floor. As a trader, you cannot take part directly in trading on the New York Stock Exchange, which is where brokers come in.
• Trading can only be done through brokers and Designated Market Makers. This status is assigned to stocks in order to provide liquidity.
• Since it is a hybrid market, trades can be executed either automatically or manually. The NYSE was the first market to offer a hybrid system for executing trades.
• If a trade is electronic, it is executed in less than a second. If it is manual, it usually takes around nine seconds.

Whether you want to buy or sell shares (or other financial products), you simply do so through a broker.

Who Regulates the NYSE?

Regulation is a very important concept in the stock market. The New York Stock Exchange is a self-regulatory organization. And since it is owned by Intercontinental Exchange, it is subject to government oversight.

The SEC, or Securities and Exchange Commission, is therefore the main regulator of this exchange.

The SEC is a US federal agency. Its role is to oversee the financial markets and liquidity, and to protect the investors and savers active on the US stock market. In other words, it is the US equivalent of France’s AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers).

What Decisions Affect NYSE Performance?

Several factors can influence the NYSE’s performance on the US market. By taking them into account, you can get an idea of market movements and trade more successfully.

• The value of the US dollar: The competitiveness of companies listed on the US market depends largely on the value of the dollar. For imported products (raw materials, finished goods and even services), the value of the US dollar against other currencies can strongly affect imports. The NYSE will therefore tend to rise with imports, since almost all companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange are American or at least based in the United States.
• The US economy: You may doubt it, but the growth of the US economy can affect the NYSE’s performance. The index price generally reacts to the quarterly or annual release of major market indicators. And, as we mentioned, the performance of the US market is measured by the major indices: the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq Composite. Decisions and events affecting these indicators therefore have a major impact on whether the New York Stock Exchange falls or rises.
• US market news: US economic rules can change from time to time, and this news can play a part in the value of the NYSE index. Changes, developments or crises are all significant factors in the index’s price.
• News about listed companies: News from companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange can also move the NYSE’s performance. Every month, important news often changes the picture. Mergers, acquisitions, partnerships or annual financial results: any movement among the market’s components has a major influence. Even news on inflation, GDP and employment is considered an important factor.
• The geopolitical environment: As we said, the health of the country’s economy affects the NYSE, and so does the geopolitical environment. In times of geopolitical tension, companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange may see slower growth, and the world’s leading economy’s position on the international market takes a hit. Take the coronavirus pandemic, for example: there is no need to explain how it affected the NYSE, just like the tensions that resurfaced in 2020.

The S&P 500 in 2025

Global stock markets are influenced by the US economy every day. The S&P 500, which represents the 500 largest companies listed on US exchanges, reflects the health of that economy: the more the economy grows, the more the S&P 500 rises. Naturally, the more the US economy is in crisis, the more the S&P 500 falls.

Representing more than 80% of the market capitalization of companies listed on the NYSE, the S&P 500 has become the benchmark of the US stock market. To have any hope of investing successfully, it is therefore important to learn to analyze and trade the S&P 500 on the New York Stock Exchange. Although the COVID-19 pandemic had a disastrous impact on many sectors of the stock market, the S&P 500 rose 18% in 2020.

What’s more, investors and market watchers expect a rebound of 14% in 2025 and 7% in 2025. To give you a better overview for your investment on the New York Stock Exchange, here is a chart of the S&P 500 from January 2020 to March 2025.

The Dow Jones

Founded in 1884 by two American journalists, Dow and Jones, the Dow Jones index is also one of the oldest indicators for assessing the health of the world’s largest economy.

Like the S&P 500, the more the economy grows, the more the Dow Jones rises, and conversely, the deeper the economic crisis, the further the Dow Jones falls. By trading this index, you can take advantage of major market movements in the United States.

Over a 5-year period, the Dow Jones moved by about 61%. While it broke through 26,600 points in 2019, by early 2025 it had already reached 28,538 points, which suggests even more gradual growth in the months and years ahead.

Among the companies in the Dow Jones, the major ones likely to move the market are: American Express, Apple, Boeing, Caterpillar, Manitowoc (buy Manitowoc shares), JPMorgan Chase (buy JPMorgan Chase & Co shares) and Chevron.

Following NYSE News and Prices

Knowing the figures and data and forecasting trends is not really enough to trade on the NYSE. It is also important to keep up with the news. To follow the New York Stock Exchange live, several dedicated platforms are available.

We also recommend turning to brokers: Vantage, eToro and Axi can all give you an idea of prices on the New York Stock Exchange.

The NYSE Price

Since it is also a stock index, the NYSE has its own price, which varies according to several factors, as we saw earlier.

The index is often rising on the New York Stock Exchange. But as our chart shows, the NYSE still sometimes goes through downtrends.

The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus, for example, can have this effect on the index. To get an idea of how it is moving in real time, here is a chart showing the trend over the past few months.

Top 10 Largest Stock Exchanges

Stock market investing has changed a great deal to become what it is today. In the past, trading took place physically, which made investing abroad much more complicated.

Fortunately, times have changed thanks to digital technology and the internet. From behind your screen, you have unlimited access to the world. Today, you can invest on an exchange in New York just as easily as in Paris or Brussels. Wherever you are, you can trade on any stock exchange in the world.

To help you, here are the top 10 largest stock exchanges:

1. Bombay Stock Exchange
2. TMX Group (Canada)
3. London Stock Exchange
4. Shenzhen Stock Exchange
5. Euronext
6. Hong Kong Stock Exchange
7. Shanghai Stock Exchange
8. Tokyo Stock Exchange
9. Nasdaq
10. New York Stock Exchange

NYSE vs Other Stock Exchanges

To better understand the success and workings of the New York Stock Exchange, here is a comparison with other stock exchanges around the world.

Exchange Name	New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)	National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations	Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)	Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE)	Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE)	Euronext	Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE)
World Ranking	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Trading Hours (Paris Time)	3:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.	3:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.	4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.	2:30 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.	2:30 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. 6:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.	9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.	2:30 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.
Market Capitalization	$30+ trillion	$11.23 trillion	$5.1 trillion	$4.67 trillion	$4.23 trillion	$3.67 trillion	$3.28 trillion
Major Indices	Dow Jones, S&P 500	Nasdaq 100	Nikkei 225	Shanghai Composite, SSE 50, SSE 80	Hang Seng	Euronext 100, CAC 40	Shenzhen Composite
Sectors of Listed Companies	All sectors	Information technology	All sectors	Information technology	Real estate	All sectors	Technology, Consumer, Industrials

NYSE and Euronext

Mergers between stock exchanges have become increasingly common in financial markets. That is how NYSE Euronext was born in 2007, a group formed by combining the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext.

The merger allowed the group to record revenue of $3.32 billion in 2010, just 3 years after the combination. However, ICE ended the merger in 2013 by acquiring the group and floating Euronext on the market.

In total, NYSE Euronext had up to 274,259,424 shares and a market capitalization of €8,839 billion.

The group’s activities were organized around 4 divisions:

• trading services
• listing services
• distribution of market data and indices
• sale of market software

These divisions operated across 8 equity markets, distributed as follows:

• 3 markets in the United States
• 1 market in France
• 1 market in Belgium
• 1 market in the Netherlands
• 1 market in Portugal
• 1 market in the United Kingdom

The group also operated other markets for derivatives: 5 in Europe and 1 in the United States, for a total of 6 derivatives markets.

Note: Euronext itself was formed by merging several stock exchanges: the Paris, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Porto, London and Brussels exchanges.

The History of the NYSE

If you are thinking of investing on the New York Stock Exchange, it may help to know a bit more about its history.

• 1792 – The New York Stock Exchange was founded on May 17, 1792. That day marks the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement, at the foot of the buttonwood (American sycamore) tree where meetings were often held. The agreement was signed by New York’s 24 stockbrokers. At first, the official list was very limited: 5 securities in total, 2 bank shares and 3 government bonds. Despite this, the exchange grew explosively, reaching as many as 380,000 shares by around 1817.
• 1817 – On May 8, 1817, the organization took the name “New York Stock & Exchange Board”. It did not keep that name: 46 years later, in 1863, it took its definitive name, the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE. The exchange evolved with world events, and in July 1914 it closed for the first time because of the outbreak of World War I. It only reopened on November 28, 1914, to support the war effort, and Treasury bonds were sold off.
• 1934 – In the same spirit, on October 1, 1934, a commission responsible for overseeing NYSE trading was established: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It was made up mainly of a chairman and 33 members, each tasked with monitoring and overseeing trading on the NYSE. Storms often leave damage behind, and the great stock market crash of 1929 was not without consequences. In 1987, the exchange took a hit and recorded its biggest fall: the Dow Jones dropped 22.6% on October 19 that year, commonly known as “Black Monday”.
• 2006 – June 1, 2006 marked the merger of the NYSE and Euronext to form the NYSE-Euronext group. Two years later, the exchange faced another crisis, the subprime crisis, caused by high-risk mortgages that borrowers took out but could not repay. It caused the NYSE index to fall by 4% to 7% in 2008.
• 2012 / 2015 – Beyond economic and geopolitical events, the history of the New York Stock Exchange has also been shaped by natural disasters. In October 2012, for example, the market closed again because of Hurricane Sandy, an event people remember as an apocalyptic, end-of-the-world scene. On November 12, 2013, ICE (Intercontinental Exchange) bought NYSE-Euronext for $11 billion. After the acquisition, the group spun off Euronext and listed it on the stock market. One day in July 2015, the New York Stock Exchange platform was hit by a glitch and trading was suspended for several hours, something never seen before.
• 2025 – Following this technical problem, the exchange recorded a loss of several thousand dollars. It was not the only site affected: several other US sites, such as that of the airline United Airlines, were hit at the same time. Despite its somewhat rocky history, the New York Stock Exchange reached a market capitalization of $30 trillion in 2025, and it remains the world’s leading stock exchange.

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