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Surveyors lay out Wall Street along the line of the stockade.
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The federal government refinances all federal and state Revolutionary War debt, issuing $80 million in bonds. These become the first major issues of publicly traded securities, marking the birth of the U.S. investment markets
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There are five securities traded in New York City. Three are government bonds and two are bank stocks.
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In the aftermath of the War of 1812, the market for securities in New York begins to grow. Along with government bonds, bank and insurance stocks now trade.
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A constitution with rules for the conduct of business is adopted.
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The New York brokers establish a formal organization, the New York Stock & Exchange Board (NYS&EB) and rent rooms at 40 Wall Street. They adopt a constitution with rules for the conduct of business.
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Stocks are traded in a "call market." The president reads out the list of stocks as the brokers trade each security in turn. There are two trading sessions each day, one in the morning and another in the afternoon.
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The New York Stock & Exchange Board becomes the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
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The New York Stock Exchange and the Open Board, another exchange, crack down on the practice of issuing shares in secret, known as watering stock.
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A membership sells for $17,000, the lowest price in the twentieth century.
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Expanding into futures trading, the NYSE forms the New York Futures Exchange (NYFE).
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The NYSE experiences its first 100 million share day.
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trading hours change to 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. where they remain today.
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On October 19, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experiences its largest one-day percentage drop in history, 508 points or 22.61 percent. This drop causes volume to surge to an unprecedented 604 million shares. The next day, volume reaches 608 million shares.
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An industry wide test demonstrates the ability to handle volume in excess of 800 million shares a day.
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More than 51 million Americans own stocks, according to the latest NYSE census.
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The SEC issues its "Market 2000" study of the U.S. securities markets. The SEC approves a uniform shareholder voting rights policy adopted by the NYSE, the American Stock Exchange and the National Associations of Securities Dealers.
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The NYSE launched an aggressive plan to re-engineer the NYSE trading floor to make use of the most sophisticated technology of the time. Handheld terminals, fiber optics, cellular communications and the first large-scale application of high-definition flat-screen technology were installed to speed market information and strengthen trading floor professionals' ability to manage orders. The two-minute timelapse film below follows the progress of technicians installing
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The NYSE introduces the first equity product that tracks the S&P Global 100 Index -- the iShares S&P Global 100 Exchange Traded Fund (NYSE-listed IOO).
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On August 2, the NYSE files to expand the NYSE Direct+® system. If approved by regulators, limits will be eliminated on the size, timing, and types of orders that can be submitted via Direct+, significantly increasing the level of purely electronic trading at the NYSE.