What is Wall Street? A street in New York and symbol of the US financial market

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• Wall Street named after the street of the same name
• An important financial center since the 18th century
• Matters to the whole world

What is happening on Wall Street affects what is happening around the world. The term “Wall Street” is now representative of the stock markets in the USA in general and sometimes even for the entire financial system in the USA. However, the famous Wall Street is actually a concrete street located in the Manhattan borough of New York City.

A little history

Wall Street got its name from a wooden wall built by Dutch settlers in the 17th century to defend against British invaders and Native Americans. Even though the wall was dismantled again in 1699, according to Investopedia, the name stuck to this day. The area around Wall Street established itself early on as a busy trading center due to its proximity to the ports. At the end of the 18th century, the focus on financial transactions began with the Buttonwood Agreement. The Buttonwood Agreement provided for commission-based securities trading and aimed to form an exclusive exchange. In 1817, the Buttonwood brokers renamed themselves “The New York Stock Exchange and Exchange Board” – the world’s largest stock exchange to date was born.

Over time, more and more financial institutions settled in the district. Even today, the eight-block Wall Street unites numerous banks, insurance companies and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In addition to the NYSE, the Wall Street district, often referred to as the Financial District, is also home to other stock exchanges such as the NYSE Amex Equities. Meanwhile, however, there are also many financial companies that no longer necessarily want to locate their headquarters on Wall Street.

The symbolic, economic and cultural significance of Wall Street

Despite this, Wall Street has now become a symbol for the entire US financial market, which is made up of US stock exchanges, investment and commercial banks, brokers, money managers and financial service providers. The media often reports on Wall Street’s assessment when a company has presented figures, which are merely the assessment of various financial experts.

In addition to its symbolic importance, Wall Street is also of great economic importance due to the numerous financial institutions located there. Wall Street is not only an important financial center, but also an important employer. Wall Street businesses are estimated to employ around 180,000 people, according to TheStreet, which accounts for around nine percent of the city’s workforce. In addition, of course, the economic importance of the Financial District also lies in the business activities of the companies based there, as many of them offer financial services around the world and are important lenders.

Wall Street also has cultural significance. There are now numerous films, TV series and books that deal with the New York financial center or recreate important events in financial history. As Investopedia writes, there are also some investors who have become something of a Wall Street star. A prominent example here is stock market legend Warren Buffett, who popularized value investing with the investment strategy at his holding company Berkshire Hathaway. Although Wall Street does not always enjoy a positive reputation: Especially in times of crisis, there is always criticism of the supposedly unbridled greed of Wall Street bankers, which leads to the formation of speculative bubbles. If such a bubble bursts, the effects can be felt far beyond New York’s financial district.

Wall Street is often compared to the so-called “Main Street”, which symbolizes individual investors, smaller companies, simple employees or the economy in general. This often creates the impression that Wall Street’s interests may conflict with Main Street’s.

When does Wall Street trade?

Trading on major Wall Street exchanges such as the NYSE or Nasdaq typically occurs Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. EST (3:30 p.m. CET) and 4:00 p.m. EST (10:00 p.m. CET). In addition, there is pre-market trading, which normally takes place from 8 am to 9:30 am, but can also start as early as 4 am (Nasdaq) or 6:30 am (NYSE). Alongside this, there is also after-hours trading which starts at 4pm and can continue until 8pm EST. US stock markets are closed on national holidays, the Monday before Independence Day and the day after Thanksgiving. Also, on Christmas Eve, Wall Street trading closes at 1 p.m.

Editorial office finanzen.net

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