Firsts & Records

From its formation under the Buttonwood Tree in 1792 to the creation of NYSE Euronext in 2007, the NYSE has experienced many historic firsts, surpassed major milestones and set new records.
NYSE Organization
  • First organized: May 17, 1792
  • First constitution: March 8, 1817
  • First incorporated: February 18, 1971 as the New York Stock Exchange, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation.
  • Establishment as a for-profit corporation, the NYSE Group, March 7, 2006.
  • Creation of NYSE Euronext, the first truly global marketplace group, April 4, 2007.
NYSE Member Firms
  • Highest price paid for a membership: $4,000,000 on December 1, 2005
  • Lowest price paid for a membership: $2,750 in 1871
  • First member firm to incorporate: Woodcock, Hess & Co., Inc., 1953
  • First member firm to go public: Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, 1970
  • First member firm to be listed on the NYSE: Merrill Lynch, 1971
NYSE Listed Companies
  • First listed company: Bank of New York, traded under the Buttonwood Tree, 1792
  • Longest listed company: Con Edison, listed in 1824 as the New York Gas Light Company
  • Oldest listed company: Sotheby's founded 1744; listed 1990

NYSE Market Information
  • Daily share volume: (first day over)

1 million

1886

5 million

1928

10 million

1929

50 million

1978

100 million

1982

500 million

1987

1 billion

1997

2 billion

2001

3 billion

2005

4 billion

2007
5 billion
2007

  • Highest volume day: 5,799,792,281 shares on August 16, 2007. 
  • Lowest volume day: 31 shares on March 16, 1830.
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average biggest single-day jump: 499.19 points on March 16, 2000.
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average biggest single-day drop: 684.81 points on September 17, 2001.
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average historic closings: (first day over).

100

January 12, 1906  (100.25)

500

March 12, 1956  (500.24)

1,000

November 14, 1972  (1,003.16)

2,000

January 8, 1987  (2,002.25)

3,000

April 17, 1991 (3,004.46)

5,000

November 21, 1995  (5,023.55)

8,000

July 16, 1997 (8,038.88)

10,000

March 29, 1999  (10,006.78)

11,000

May 3, 1999  (11,014.69)

12,000

October 19, 2006 (12,011.73)

13,000

April 25, 2007 (13,089.89)
14,000 July 19, 2007 (14,000.41)
NYSE Trading Floor Technology Firsts
  • Ticker: 1867
  • Telephones: 1878
  • Electric lights: 1883
  • Automated quotation service: 1953
  • Radio pagers, 1966
  • Electronic ticker display boards: 1966
  • Designated Order Turnaround (DOT) System: 1976
  • Intermarket Trading System (ITS): 1978
  • Electronic Display Book: 1983
  • SuperDot 250: 1984
  • Integrated Technology Network: 1994-1996
  • Wireless Data System: 1997
  • NYSE Direct+®: 2000
  • NYSE OpenBook: 2002
  • NYSE Hybrid Market: 2005
Related Information
 

Historical NYSE Trading Hours (pdf)

Historical NYSE Closings (pdf)

NYSE Presidents, Chairmen and CEOs (as of April 4, 2007) (pdf)

First 24 NYSE members (pdf)