ticker

ticker, high-speed means of reporting information on securities transactions. It provides the stock symbol, number of shares, and price of each transaction; these are transmitted to tickers at brokerage houses. The first stock ticker, which printed transactions on a long ribbon of paper, was developed at the New York Stock Exchange in 1867 (prior to this, information had been carried by mail or messenger). Thomas A. Edison improved the machine in 1869, and it remained relatively unchanged until a faster ticker, printing 500 characters per minute, was developed in 1930. In 1964 a variable-speed ticker—printing up to 900 characters per minute and capable of handling 10 million shares per day without a tape delay—was put into operation. The ticker was first linked to a computer system in 1965, and this made it possible for a transaction to appear on the ticker tape within seconds after the trade was executed on the floor of the exchange. Most major securities markets around the world allow time-delayed online access to their tickers. The first ticker-tape parade took place in New York City in 1886; it occurred spontaneously as onlookers showered ticker tape onto a parade celebrating the dedication of the Statue of Liberty.