NYSE Shuts Down Trading Floors Due To Pandemic, Will Operate Electronically

The New York Stock Exchange is temporarily shutting down its trading floors as a precaution against the novel coronavirus pandemic, owner Intercontinental Exchange Inc. ICE announced Wednesday.

Trading and regulatory oversight will continue uninterrupted, according to NYSE. 

NYSE Goes Electronic On Monday

All trading at the exchange will take place electronically starting Monday at the open. Two New York trading floors and one in San Francisco will remain closed until further notice.

The exchange is "fully capable" of serving all participants with electronic trading, NYSE President Stacy Cunningham said in a statement.

"While we are taking the precautionary step of closing the trading floors, we continue to firmly believe the markets should remain open and accessible to investors. All NYSE markets will continue to operate under normal trading hours despite the closure of the trading floors," she said.

Cunningham told CNBC that two people in one of NYSE's trading floor buildings tested positive for COVID-19, and this contributed to the exchange desk's decision.

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ICE Shares Positive In After-Hours Session

NYSE is the only stock exchange in the United States that continues to have a physical trading floor, with others only operating electronic platforms.

The fact that NYSE was considering closing the trading floors was reported last week by the Wall Street Journal.

Derivatives exchange operator CME Group Inc. CME also closed its Chicago trading floor earlier this month for an indefinite time, moving all trading to its electronic platform Globex.

Intercontinental Global shares were down 8.74% at $70.08 at the close Wednesday and traded higher by 1.88% at $71.40 in the after-hours session.