The New York Stock Exchange was filled with blue and white Israeli flags on Tuesday, in honor of Economy Minister Nir Barkat’s visit to Wall Street.
The minister presided over a special ceremony and the crowd cheered when he rang the Stock Exchange’s iconic bell, which signals the end of the day’s trading. At Minister Barkat's side was Lynne Martin, president of the New York Stock Exchange.
"Whoever invests in Israel will make a huge profit,” Minister Barkat said to investors.
"I am proud to stand as a representative of the State of Israel in the most important and largest Stock Exchange in the world and close the trade.”
“As I said in the meeting with the heads of the Stock Exchange, the State of Israel is a strategic focus for investors, in light of our distinct advantage in the technological field where the economic future of the world lies,” the minister continued.
"As a former investor I say to all investors in America - investing in Israel is the best investment you can make. Whoever invests in Israel will benefit enormously.”
New York's 'Big Board'
The New York Stock Exchange is the largest Stock Exchange in the United States and in the world by total company value and the second largest in terms of the number of companies traded on it after the Nasdaq.
Today, the street name Wall Street is widely used as a nickname for the Stock Exchange itself.
Another well-known nickname for the NYSE is the "Big Board," referencing the early days of Wall Street when trading was done manually on large boards. About half of the trading volume is conducted online.
As of 2022, 2,400 the New York Stock Exchange trades companies with a total value of approximately 30 trillion dollars.
Out of the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones index, the largest public companies in the United States, 28 are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Nearly 100 Israeli companies are traded on the NYSE.