NY Stock Exchange closes trading floor as Sandy approaches

A sign announcing the temporary closure of the New York subway system, due to Hurricane Sandy, is seen in the subway prior to the arrival of Hurricane Sandy on October 28, 2012 in New York City.  AFP

NEW YORK—The New York Stock Exchange announced it will close its trading floor and make transactions only electronically Monday, due to the imminent arrival of Hurricane Sandy.

NYSE Euronext has decided to “suspend physical trading floor operations” and would “trade all NYSE-listed securities on NYSE Arca, the company’s fully electronic exchange,” a statement said Sunday.

The approaching storm has New York City on high alert, with Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordering evacuations in some areas and shutting down public transport Monday, including the subway.

Manhattan’s Battery Park City near Wall Street is among the at-risk zones under a mandatory evacuation order, with officials urging residents to seek accommodations inland or to shelter in one of more than 70 schools and other buildings serving as emergency shelters.

With the weather expected to worsen rapidly, New York authorities have ordered 1,100 national guard troops into the state, including 200 who will patrol Manhattan streets and 300 in threatened Long Island districts.

Hurricane Sandy was on target to collide with a cold front bearing down from the north, creating what meteorologists have named a “Frankenstorm” which threaten to bring floods, high winds and even heavy snow across many eastern states.