Last Thursday, IAG hosted a trip to the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT). We got a chance to walk around the floor of the exchange, something not a lot of people get a chance to do. What’s more, we watched the closing of the cotton market. The last five minutes of trading were very hectic as the traders rushed to fill last minute orders from their customers. It was very exciting watching this open out-cry market in action; and very different than how the New York Stock Exchange functioned. The NYSE was very subdued, with a lot less paper now. Earlier, all orders in the NYSE floor were written on paper, now they have moved to electronic tablets. The NYBOT on the other hand, continues to use paper extensively, and the floor was littered with paper slips.
The best part of the entire visit was not walking around the floor, or watching the close, but rather a trading simulation. The traders were nice enough to hang out after the close to teach us the basics of trading in an open out-cry market. And then we got a chance to try it out. All of that were there enjoyed it greater.
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