Wall Street

Wall Street
The New York Stock Exchange Building's Broad Street entrance (right) as seen from Wall Street
Map
Native nameHet Cingel (Dutch)
West endBroadway
East endSouth Street
Street sign

Wall Street is a street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Eight city blocks long, it runs between Broadway in the west and South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, the American financial services industry, New York–based financial interests, or the Financial District itself. Anchored by Wall Street, New York has been described as the world's principal fintech and financial center.[1][2]

The street was originally known in Dutch as Het Cingel ("the Belt") when it was part of New Amsterdam during the 17th century. An actual wall existed on the street from 1653 to 1699, and during the 18th century, the location served as a slave market and securities trading site, and from 1703 onwards the location of New York's first city hall, Federal Hall. In the early 19th century, both residences and businesses occupied the area, but increasingly the latter predominated, and New York's financial industry became centered on Wall Street. During the 20th century, several early skyscrapers were built on Wall Street, including 40 Wall Street, once the world's tallest building.

The Wall Street area is home to the New York Stock Exchange, the world's largest stock exchange by total market capitalization, as well as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and several commercial banks and insurance companies. Several other stock and commodity exchanges have also been located in Lower Manhattan near Wall Street, including the New York Mercantile Exchange and other commodity futures exchanges, along with the NYSE American. To support the business they did on the exchanges, many brokerage firms owned offices nearby. The direct economic impacts of Wall Street activities extend worldwide.

Wall Street itself is a narrow and winding street running from the East River to Broadway and lined with skyscrapers, as well as the New York Stock Exchange Building, the Federal Hall and 1 Wall Street at its western end. The street is near multiple New York City Subway stations, ferry terminals, and the World Trade Center site.

  1. ^ "The Global Financial Centres Index 35". Long Finance. March 21, 2024. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  2. ^ Jones, Huw (March 24, 2022). "New York widens lead over London in top finance centres index". www.reuters.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.[title missing]