On This Day In Market History: NYSE Trading Volume Tops 1 Million Shares

What Happened?

On this day 131 years ago, daily trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 1 million for the first time ever.

Where Was The Market?

As of 1882, the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average did not yet exist. In fact, the New York Stock & Exchange Board, which would become the NYSE, had only been around for about 65 years.

What Else Was Going On In The World?

It was in December 1882 that inventor Thomas Edison created the first ever string of Christmas lights. A gallon of milk cost about 6 cents.

A Historic Milestone

The New York Stock & Exchange Board was officially re-named the New York Stock Exchange in 1863. Several key events led to meaningful upticks in trading volume throughout the 19th century, which culminated with the NYSE hitting the magic 1 million mark on Dec. 15, 1882.

In 1869, the NYSE merged with its large New York competitor the Open Board of Stock Brokers. The Open Board of Stock Brokers had 354 members compared to the NYSE’s 533 members at the time.

The merger, along with an increase in market speculation during the Civil War, drove trading volume much higher in the latter half of the 1800s. Prior to the Securities Act of 1933, there were virtually no federal laws regulating the trading that took place on the NYSE, making the market prone to booms, crashes, fraud and manipulation at the time.

Today, the average daily trading volume on the NYSE typically ranges between 2 and 6 billion shares.