NEW YORK, N.Y. – The New York Stock Exchange will partially reopen its trading floor later this month after closing it in late March due to the coronavirus.
Stacey Cunningham, president of the NYSE, said Thursday that the trading floor will reopen to a subset of brokers the day after Memorial Day.
We have made the decision to reopen the NYSE and NYSE American Options floors on May 26, the day after Memorial Day.
Reopening will include limited staffing and new safety protocols developed in consultation with government officials and public-health experts.
— Stacey Cunningham (@stacey_cunning) May 15, 2020
The brokers that are allowed to return will have to wear protective masks while working and follow social-distancing requirements, Cunningham said in a post published in The Wall Street Journal.
Many of the floor traders will continue to work remotely as they have been since March 23, when the NYSE shifted to all-electronic trading.
Cunningham tweeted that bringing traders back to the floor serves several purposes.
“For issuers and investors, it begins the process of returning our markets to providing the highest level of service possible,” wrote Cunningham.
For the trading floor community, Cunningham says reopening supports their small businesses, which have been challenged by the temporary floor closure.
“And for our economy, reopening our trading floors offers a path to reopening that other businesses in densely populated areas may choose to follow,” she said.
