What was the largest stock exchange in the world when the 1929 Wall Street Crash began?

The New York Stock Exchange was the world’s largest stock exchange when the 1929 Wall Street Crash began.

Located on Wall Street in New York City, the exchange was the main center of U.S. share trading and had become a symbol of the country’s expanding industrial economy. Millions of shares changed hands during the speculative boom of the 1920s, often with investors buying on margin, meaning they used borrowed money.

When prices began falling in October 1929, margin calls forced many investors to sell. That additional selling pushed prices down and worsened the panic. The exchange remained central to the crash, but the crisis spread through banks, businesses, farms, and households across the United States and abroad.

The NYSE is often treated as synonymous with Wall Street, although Wall Street is a street and financial district, while the NYSE is a specific stock exchange. The exchange continues to operate in Lower Manhattan.