NY Stock exchange back in the 80s, with a bunch of people screaming and throwing paper. How did the trades get carried out? It seemed like absolute chaos.
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Overly simplified of course, but the gist is that customer calls a broker to initiate a certain trade (buy 500 shares of X, at price Y). Broker calls down to the “pit” (where trades take place on the exchange floor), lets the floor man know what trade(s) to make. Floor man goes over to the pit, initiates hand signals to identify to the pit that he wants to buy, looks for the accompanying hand signals for people looking to sell. Eye contact. More hand signals exchanged, deal is agreed to. Both buyer and seller write down their notes as to what the trade details were, then both go back to their phones, call their bosses and report the trade. Reconcile at the end of the day and if everything matches, all good, move on to the next day.
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