An old-fashioned trading system that involves verbal bids and offers, where member traders gather on the trading floor of an exchange to execute their desired transactions, calling out (crying) prices aloud and using a special sign language (a complicated set of hand signals) to make and fill orders. All exchanges were originally open outcry. Nowadays, some exchanges operate a hybrid system of trading that combines both an open outcry system with electronic trading. However, with the wide spread and omnipresence of computer gadgetry and internet connectivity, exchanges are increasingly replacing the “obsolete” open outcry system with electronic trading.
January 19, 2024