How Does A Stock Exchange Work?

The buying and selling of stocks at the exchange is done on an area which is called the floor. All over the floor are positions which are called posts. Each post has the names of the stocks traded at that specific post. If a broker wants to buy shares of a specific company they will go to the section of the post that has that stock. If the broker sees at the price of the stock is not quite what the broker is authorized to pay, a professional called the specialist may receive an order. The specialist will often act as a go-between between the seller and buyer. What the specialist does is to enter the information from the broker into a book. If the stock reaches the required price, the specialist will sell or buy the stock according to the orders given to them by the broker. The transaction is then reported to the investor.

If a broker approaches a post and sees that the price of the stock is what they are authorized to pay, the broker can complete the transaction themselves. As soon as a transaction occurs, the broker makes a memorandum and reports it to the brokerage office by telephone instantly. At the post, an exchange employee jots down on a special card the details of the transaction including the stock symbol, the number of shares, and the price of the stocks. The employee then puts the card into an optical reader. The reader puts this information into a computer and transmits the information of the buy or sell of the stock to the market. This means that information about the transaction is added to the stock market and the transaction is counted on the many stock market tickers and information display devices that investors rely on all over the world. Today, markets are instantly linked by the Internet, allowing for faster exchange.