The opening bell signals the start of a trading day on a stock exchange, with US exchanges ringing at 9:30 am EST. Historically, markets were opened with a hammer, but the New York exchange switched to a bell in 1903. The opening bell is now used for special events and promotions, and companies may schedule major changes around it.
In the financial world, an opening bell is a signal that marks the beginning of a trading day on a stock exchange. On US exchanges, the opening bell rings at 9:30 am EST and the closing bell rings at 4:00 pm EST. Between these two times, shares of publicly traded companies and other publicly traded products are bought and sold. In a sense, the opening bell is like a “starter gun” for the sometimes hectic activity that takes place on the floor of an exchange.
Historians interested in the history of financial markets and monetary affairs show that the sound used to open and close markets was not always a bell. Before the late 1800s, historical resources reveal that markets were opened with a hammer. In 1903, the New York exchange switched from using a gong to a bell.
In recent times, the New York market has seen another change around the use of opening the markets with a bell. Where the bell used to ring was reserved for floor managers and executives involved in the exchange, now an assortment of “special guests” ring the bell for the New York exchange. Also, some special events are announced or promoted at the opening ceremony of the bell.
Other news from world markets shows that other countries have adopted the practice of using an opening bell to mark the start of the trading day on their exchanges. The European community has gradually assembled a collection of regional “Euronext” exchanges that replaces a less ordered set of national exchanges before the end of the 20th century. Within Euronext exchanges, opening with a bell seems to be a common standard, although some of the markets still use a gong, according to recent reports on opening ceremonies for Euronext exchanges.
The opening bell doesn’t just have relevance to individual traders or brokers; Companies also see the opening bell and the ceremonies around it as an opportunity. Some companies will schedule major changes around the opening bell so that their promotions coincide with activity in the markets. The opening sound of a bell is part of a larger set of events that commands a particular trading day and affects what happens at each moment of the day’s financial events.
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