What is the NYSE?

The New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world. Here’s what you need to know about it.

By the standards of American history, 1792 was a relatively quiet year. The U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Mint were both established, construction of the White House began, and on May 17, on Wall Street in New York City, a group of 24 stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement creating what would become the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE. 

A lot changed in the centuries since. Today there are some 79 major stock exchanges globally, including the London Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange. The U.S. alone has more than a dozen exchanges, with the potential for several new exchanges in the near future. 

Even considering the number of exchanges, including the popular Nasdaq, the NYSE still accounts for about 40% of the world’s total market value. You’ll find some of the biggest names in business there, including The Cocoa-Cola Company (KO), 3M (MMM), Goldman Sachs (GS), McDonald’s (MCD), Salesforce (CRM), Visa (V), and The Walt Disney Company (DIS). 

The NYSE also hosts several of the most well-known indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is calculated using the 30 largest companies that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 Index tracks the 500 largest companies in the market by capitalization, while the Wilshire 5000 Index tracks every stock on every exchange as long as it’s not a Bulletin Board or a Pink Sheets stock.

To learn more about stocks and investing, download our FREE report, How to Invest in Stocks and Other Investing Basics, today. You’ll learn about the four types of stocks, what it takes to be a successful investor, and you’ll discover five reasons you should skip the broker and invest on your own.