Like a church on Sunday, you don't expect the world's most famous exchange to close when there are stocks to be traded. However, the New York Stock Exchange has shut its doors multiple times in its long and storied history.

We'll look at when and why the NYSE in this article. For related reading, also see The Birth Of Stock Exchanges. From to , things went smoothly. As a testament to the brokers and members' reluctance to stop business, the Great Fire of that ripped through lower Manhattan did not actually result in a closure, but rather a move to temporary quarters where trading continued on.

What is the NYSE?

New York Stock Exchange - Wikipedia

Find out in The NYSE And Nasdaq: Since then, the NYSE has been prey to some inevitable shutdowns due to weather. The blizzard of caused a shut down, as did the moves to larger quarters. Excessive heat, lack of heat and paperwork backlogs - particularly during times of short staffing during wars - also caused the exchange to pause for a day here and there. So perhaps the fairest way to judge is by the events that led to successive days of closure.

Deaths The first long closure of the NYSE followed the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth in The exchange closed for over a week and has observed Lincoln's birthday every year from to Since then, the NYSE has closed for days of mourning following the deaths of notable figures, occasionally making their birthdays a holiday at the exchange.

More often, the exchange will close early or for several hours during the funeral of important figures.

Important people also get to ring the bell. Learn more in The Tradition Of The NYSE Bell. The bank failed, and the NYSE closed for ten days.

Businesses and railroads failed en masse and the economy spiraled into a six-year depression. The Great Depression marked another pause in trading as FDR closed the NYSE during the banking holiday, lasting five days in During the actual crash, the NYSE did close early for several days to process the flood of trades.

Learn more about the Great Depression in What Caused The Great Depression? War The declaration of WWI marks the longest shutdown on record with the NYSE closing for more than four months in The exchange eventually did get back to business and its operations helped cement the United States' position as the preeminent financial hub after the war.

WWII caused no such shut down.

The New York Stock Exchange Has a Long History of Shutdowns – Mother Jones

However, the NYSE appropriately shut down for two days to celebrate the victorious return of the troops in with - what else - a ticker tape parade. The other long closure related to war, was the September 11th terrorist attacks on the WTC.

The four-day closure marked the longest since the banking holiday in For more info on the start of this exchange, check out Wall Street History: The NYSE Is Born, Bubbles Form. Notable Non-Closures Although many events have shut the NYSE down for a day, and a rarer few have closed it for several days, the days where the NYSE has carried on in the face of adversity are also worth mentioning. During some of the worst market moments, including crashes and panics in , , , , and , trading has continued.

But a favorite example of Wall Street's admirable stubbornness is the bombing of Wall Street in When a wagon loaded with dynamite and shrapnel killed 38 people outside the J. Morgan bank, not only did the NYSE open, but the bank itself opened for business as well. It marked one of the first times in modern history when public opinion swung firmly behind Wall Street, supporting their defiance of terrorism.

The Bottom Line Brokers are not invincible. If the heat is out or the roads snowed over, the NYSE will shut down. To keep it closed, however, requires war, terrorism, depression, panic or assassinations, and fortunately those events are still much rarer than the odd blizzard.

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Closing Down The NYSE: What Does It Take? By Andrew Beattie October 19, — 2: Learn how British coffeehouses helped give rise to the juggernaut that is the NYSE. The NYSE is known for its prestige so why do some companies opt to list on the NASDAQ instead? Companies don't elect to leave an exchange so much as they're asked. A technical glitch described as a "critical issue" has halted trading in tickers on the New York Stock Exchange.

We tell you about five of the most popular stock exchanges from around the globe. The attack on the World Trade Centers on September 11, had a profound impact on the market.

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