What activities of the New York Stock Exchange might affect your life?

More than 2 billion shares of stock are traded (bought and sold) through the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on a typical business day. Often called the “Big Board,” the NYSE is one of the oldest and largest stock markets in the world.

The New York Stock Exchange started in 1792 through the efforts of 24 brokers and merchants. Five securities were traded when the NYSE started. Three were government bonds and the other two were bank stocks. Today, nearly 2,700 companies are regularly on the exchange, including most of the largest U.S. corporations as well as many foreign companies.

In recent years a combination of three institutions created the NYSE Group. This merger of the New York Stock Exchange, Archipelago, and the Pacific Exchange created the largest-ever securities exchange.

The NYSE Group has a global emphasis. Over 450 companies from nearly 50 countries make up the NYSE non-U.S. directory. More recently, the NYSE had plans to purchase Euronext. This Europe-based stock exchange was created by a merger of the Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam exchanges.