Economy Minister Nir Barkat rings the bill at the New York Stock Exchange
Economy Minister Nir Barkat was given the honor of ringing the iconic closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Monday night, marking the end of trading at the world's largest stock exchange.
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During the special ceremony presided over by Minister Barkat, the NYSE was festively decorated with blue-and-white Israeli flags. The crowd applauded as the Israeli economy minister rang the iconic closing bell to signal the end of trading. Standing beside him was NYSE President Stacey Cunningham.
"I am proud to stand here as a representative of the State of Israel in the most important and largest stock exchange in the world and to close trade. As I said when meeting with the NYSE heads, Israel is a strategic focus for investors, thanks to our distinct advantage in the field of technology, where the economic future of the world lies,” he said at the ceremony.
"As a former investor, I say to all investors in America – investing in Israel is the best investment that anyone can do. Those who invest in Israel will benefit immensely.”
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Economy Minister Nir Barkat rings the closing NYSE bell
(Photo: New York Stock Exchange)
The New York Stock Exchange is the world's largest stock exchange by overall company value and stands second only to the Nasdaq Stock Market in terms of the number of companies listed. This exchange is popularly known as Wall St. after the New York City street it is located on.
As of 2022, 2,400 companies, with a total value of approximately 30 trillion dollars, are traded on the NYSE. Twenty-eight of the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Index (the largest public companies in the US), are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. About half of the trading volume is conducted online. Nearly 100 Israeli companies are traded on the NYSE.