The NYSE is one of the few remaining stock exchanges where much active trading still happens in person on the trading floor.

When the New York Stock Exchange was started in 1792, traders would meet both outside on the street and in coffee shops to do business.

What is after-hours trading?

While both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq open at 9:30 am ET and close at 4 pm ET, some trading is allowed after that. After-hours trading was once only open to institutional investors and people with particularly high net worths. Now, with the advent of computers, anyone can trade stocks anywhere online, and those regulations have broadened.

Visualize the differences between the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.

As technology evolved, so did Wall Street

Before the telephone was invented in the mid 1800s, people had to trade stocks in person. But once office telephones and computers became commonplace, banks and other financial institutions didn't necessarily need to have their headquarters near exchanges like Wall Street's New York Stock Exchange.

A history of stock exchanges, from Venitain merchants to modern day

While the idea of stock exchanges—markets where securities can be bought and sold—is mostly synonymous with Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, and other modern markets, places to buy and sell financial instruments have a long history....

The stock market, explained in 3 minutes

The stock market consists of a set of exchanges and other venues where shares of public companies are bought and sold. The Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange are two of the most well-known exchanges in the US, while major exchanges also operate around the world, including in Tokyo, Shanghai, London, and São Paulo.

What’s up with the new Texas Stock Exchange?

The two biggest stock exchanges in the U.S. are both based in New York—the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. But a potential new “Texas Stock Exchange”—which would be based in, you guessed it, Texas—could change that. To find out more about the project, backed by enormous companies such as BlackRock and Citadel, watch this video.

'The stock market' can be loosely defined as a set of exchanges and other places where shares of public companies are bought and sold.

Find out how companies decide which stock exchange to list on

Tech companies often prefer to list on the tech-focused Nasdaq, whereas more traditional organizations opt for the New York Stock Exchange. Sometimes the choice is made partly based on the services an exchange offers a company.

The Nasdaq is typically the world's second-largest stock exchange when measured by the total market value of the companies listed on the exchange.

Electronic trading transformed investing, ushering in a new era for retail investors in which average Americans could research stocks online and then use early platforms like StreetSmart and E-Trade to conduct their transactions

In the early 1990s, stock brokerages knew that online trading would be a great equalizer, creating opportunities for more individuals to buy and sell stocks.

The Nasdaq was founded in 1971, marking the debut of electronic trading

The Nasdaq stock exchange arguably invented electronic trading, making it a key part of fintech history. It's often used as a benchmark for how the tech industry is performing.

There's a grading room on the eighth floor of the New York Stock Exchange where experts loudly slurp coffee and then spit it out to test its quality.

The first US stock exchange dates back to the 1790s in Philadelphia

Only two years after that stock exchange in Philadelphia started, the largest stock exchange in the US to date was created: the New York Stock Exchange.

Companies sometimes change which stock exchange they're listed on.

The number of publicly traded companies has decreased in recent years.

In 1996, more than 7,300 companies traded publicly on US stock markets, but that number has recently dropped to 4,300. Economists point to two reasons: First, going public requires full disclosure of operations, exposing it to scrutiny from investors, competitors, and analysts. Second, the IPO process is expensive and time-consuming.

The fees for keeping a company listed on the NYSE are typically higher than the Nasdaq's.

The origin and history of stock exchanges

When were stocks first sold? Though debt was first sold in Venice in the 14th century, stocks proper began in the Netherlands. To fund its spice trade across the world in 1602, the Dutch East India Company sold stocks to individual investors, a novel approach to raising funds. It was the Dutch West India Company that founded New York—the site of some of the world’s greatest stock exchanges. Listen to a concise historical overview here.

The history of Wall Street as a financial center dates back to the 1700s, beginning with the establishment of the New York Stock Exchange and New York City's first official slave market.

Retail investors are average joes, while institutional investors often move billions of dollars a day

Retail investors often trade 100 shares at a time, while institutional investors trade 10,000 or more. The biggest difference is that, unlike retail investors, institutional investors are professionals who are trading someone else’s money.

Peter Tuchman, who has worked on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange for over four decades and ranks among the most famous traders in history, is known as the 'Einstein of Wall Street.'

While day trading has risen in popularity in recent years, the SEC warns it is a speculative strategy that can cause big losses

A day trader is anyone who buys and sells a stock within the same trading day. They quickly move in and out of the market to try and profit. Some day traders are professionals, while others are retail investors.

The number of publicly traded companies has decreased significantly

The stock market hit a peak in 1996, when more than 7,000 companies were publicly traded. But in 2024, there were nearly half that many publicly traded companies.

Retail investing by the numbers

When average Americans began pouring into the stock market, Wall Street wasn’t sure if its new guests were there to stay. But at the end of 2023, Public confidently declared that retail investors “weren’t going anywhere” after 30 million new individuals began buying and selling stock. Download the report to learn more here.

In 1711, the New York City Common Council decided that the city’s slave market would operate on Wall Street

In 1711, the New York City Common Council decided that the city’s slave market would operate on Wall Street. Back then, the nation’s economy rode on the backs of slave labor and the slave trade itself—meaning that the slave market’s location was an economic hub for the city.

How exchanges like the Chicago Mercantile act as trading referees

Chicago's Mercantile Exchange emphasizes futures contracts on commodities. This podcast episode breaks down how exchanges actually work, make money, and streamline the market.