The Nasdaq Begins Trading

February 8, 1971 Opening on Wall Street on this day in 1971, the Nasdaq stock market — originally an acronym for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations — was the first fully electronic stock exchange in history. Today it is the second-largest exchange in the world, behind its primary competitor, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Originally used to provide automated quotations about stock prices for investors, the Nasdaq eventually added trading and transactional systems. The completely electronic format was an alternative to the less-efficient structure of traditional marketplaces, which required live traders on an active and chaotic trading floor. In 1992, Nasdaq joined with the London Stock Exchange to form the first intercontinental link between financial markets. Six years later, the Nasdaq exchange was the first in the world to create its own website and begin trading securities online. This cutting-edge model has historically attracted high-tech, growth-oriented companies, including Apple, Amazon, Tesla, and Microsoft, resulting in a volatile but often high-return market. More at History Quiz