NYSE president in Seoul: 'Technology alone is not enough' to stabilize markets

"Technology alone is not enough."

The New York Stock Exchange has cited the combination of technology and human judgment as the key to keeping markets stable even during sharp swings — and said it assigns a Designated Market Maker (DMM) to every security listed on the exchange.

NYSE President Lynn Martin made the remarks Monday at a seminar on advancing South Korea's capital markets and enhancing global competitiveness, hosted by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Nam-jun at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Martin, who welcomed President Lee Jae-myung and a South Korean delegation to the NYSE last September, used the occasion to outline the exchange's market operations experience and discuss avenues for cooperation with South Korea's capital markets.

Martin said that technology infrastructure capable of handling massive surges in trading volume is the foundation of sound market operations.

She cited the NYSE's closing auction on March 20 this year, which set an all-time record of 3.57 billion shares traded with a total transaction value of $230.5 billion — both historic highs. "The reason we were able to process that volume stably was because we have consistently invested in technology designed to function even under extreme pressure," she said, crediting the exchange's integrated trading platform, Pillar, which consolidates orders and trades from multiple markets into a single system.

Yet Martin said technology alone cannot handle all aspects of price formation and trading. "Every security listed on the NYSE is connected to a person we call a Designated Market Maker," she said.

DMMs are specialist market makers assigned to individual securities. They participate in opening and closing auctions and support the smooth formation of bid and ask prices throughout the trading day. Citadel Securities, Virtu Americas and GTS Securities are among the firms serving as DMMs.

"By combining technology with human judgment, we aim to deliver superior opening and closing auctions," Martin said. "As a result, NYSE-listed companies have performed better across all sectors — with lower volatility and tighter spreads."

Martin also outlined plans to extend US market trading hours to 23 hours a day in the second half of this year. "We are ready to expand trading hours from the current 16 hours to 23 hours, five days a week, giving investors in effect around-the-clock market access," she said, adding that connecting all 19 US securities exchanges into a single system had been the most complex part of the effort.

On South Korea's capital markets, Martin offered a positive assessment of their ability to compete globally. "Korea has achieved something very special," she said. "It is an economy with the scale, sophistication and will to compete with the world's best capital markets." She added that she had come not as an observer of South Korea's capital markets, but as a genuine partner in their development.