By Hannah Smithson
The nation’s two biggest trading platforms, the New York stock exchange and the Nasdaq stock market have shut down today amid severe storm warnings from Hurricane Sandy. The US stock exchange will be closed Monday and possibly Tuesday while the National Hurricane Center monitors the storm’s trajectory.
This is the first time that trade has halted in all US stocks since the four days following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
New york is one of the major cities in Hurricane Sandy’s path and low lying areas of the city could see serious flooding, including the financial districts and Wall Street.
The New York stock exchange has said it will close till Wednesday but will continue electronic transactions.
The storm has triggered some of America’s biggest financial exchanges and bankers to go into emergency mode, warning their traders and employees to stay at home.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the world’s largest investment bank, told all but essential employees to work remotely. Outside its world headquarters in New York, on West Street near an evacuation zone, barricades were being installed to protect against potential surging waters.
Meanwhile, residents in New York have been emptying supermarket shelves and stocking up on batteries and tinned food in panic of the impending storm.
President Obama has made an announcement telling populations of affected areas to take warnings seriously and listen to state and local elected officials.
After promising to boost the US economy upon his re-election, the President’s campaign could potentially be affected by closing Wall Street, and how he handles the events over the next few days could determine the results.