Is AI taking over Wall Street? Here's how AI keeps up with NYSE’s 1.2 trillion daily order messages

Synopsis AI trading stock market: Wall Street is witnessing an unprecedented surge in trading activity, with the NYSE processing 1.2 trillion order messages daily, a threefold increase from four years ago. This boom, fueled by AI and algorithmic trading, necessitates AI's role in real-time market surveillance to detect illicit activities. Meanwhile, the IPO market is showing robust signs of recovery. AI trading stock market: The New York Stock Exchange is now processing a record 1.2 trillion order messages per day, three times higher than four years ago, revealed NYSE President Lynn Martin, as per a report. The surge is being driven by AI-powered and algorithmic trading, which has rapidly changed how US markets operate, as per a Fortune report. Martin said in an interview with Fortune at the Most Powerful Women Summit, “When I first took this job four years ago, COVID was still rearing its ugly head, and a volatile day in our market saw about 350 billion incoming order messages a day,” adding, “This past April, a peak day for us was 1.2 trillion messages,” as quoted in the report. Each message represents a buy or sell order or a match, showing that trading activity has reached speeds beyond human capacity, according to the Fortune report. AI Now Monitors Wall Street Martin said that the NYSE relies on artificial intelligence to monitor trading in real time, as humans can no longer keep up with the sheer volume of activity, as per the report. She said, “It’s our obligation to protect the financial markets, so we have to surveil those messages,” adding, “We can’t do that with a bunch of humans. We need good technology. So we use AI in our regulatory function all over, looking for nefarious behavior in the market,” as quoted by Fortune. Live Events AI now acts as a regulatory tool, scanning trillions of micro-movements to detect manipulation, spoofing and cyberattacks as trading continues to accelerate, as per the report. ALSO READ: Gen Z like protests in 2500 towns and cities in US against Trump - who's behind the October 18 No Kings Protest NYSE Operates a Private Offline Data Center Martin also highlighted the NYSE’s unique data infrastructure, explaining that the exchange operates its own data center that is completely offline and separate from the internet. She revealed that, “We’re a little unique in that we have our own purpose-built data center. We have matching engines in that data center, and we run our own proprietary network,” as quoted in the report. Martin pointed out that this data center has no internet and everything inside the NYSE’s core trading environment operates on point-to-point links, isolated from the public internet entirely, as reported by Fortune. She added that, “We take cyber super seriously,” adding, “On our most critical infrastructure, we have full visibility of the system, and therefore we can protect that infrastructure," as quoted in the report. ALSO READ: After HR, Amazon plans to layoff in this major department - check if you are affected IPO Market Rebounds in 2025 Martin even highlighted that the surge in market activity and the NYSE’s heavy investment in technology have driven more companies toward the public markets and said that companies are returning to the public market after two slow years. She said, “The IPO market is really, really strong,” adding, “We’ve had a great year so far across all sectors,” as quoted in the report. Martin shared that CEOs are actively pushing to go public again after a long freeze, saying, “The amount of CEOs calling me saying, ‘When’s the government going to open up again?’—our phones are ringing a lot,” as quoted by Fortune. A lot of that demand comes from CEOs and investors who want to be in markets that are liquid, resilient, and regulated, no matter how fast they move, and the rise of AI, the trillion-message trading surge, and cyber risks aren’t reasons to step back from the public market, as reported by Fortune. She said, “Large deals are getting done." FAQs Why is AI needed on Wall Street? The trading volume is too high for humans to monitor manually, so AI helps track and regulate trades in real time, as per the report. How does AI protect the financial markets? AI detects suspicious activity like manipulation, spoofing, and cyber threats instantly. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates. ...moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates. ...moreless