Wall Street Tickers Silent for Astronauts
The bustle of business on Wall Street halted for one minute today in memory of the seven Americans killed aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
A bell clanged twice at 11 a.m. to stop business on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Trading halted instantly, tickers froze and the shouts of traders faded away. For one minute, the only sound on the floor was that of a lone telephone ringing. Traders stood motionless, some with heads bowed.
The bells clanged again at 11:01 a.m., and trading resumed.
Similar observances were held at the American Stock Exchange, the New York Commodity Exchange, the New York and Chicago Mercantile exchanges and the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
It was the 10th such observance at the New York Stock Exchange since its unprecedented closure for more than a day following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963.
One minute of silence was observed following the deaths of three astronauts on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in 1967.
