The St. Louis Stock Exchange was a regional stock exchange located in St. Louis, Missouri. Opened in 1899, in September 1949, the St. Louis Stock Exchange was acquired by the Chicago Stock Exchange, and renamed the Midwest Stock Exchange.
History
Early years of the exchange
The St. Louis Stock Exchange opened in 1899. Trade volume peaked a year later with $44 million. In April 1902, St. Louis Stock Exchange president Alfred H. Bauer announced that committees had been elected to serve for one year terms. The constitution and bylaws of the new exchange were adopted on January 3, 1903, and made effective on February 1, 1903.
According to stock exchange president George Herbert Walker, business transacted on the exchange floor was less in 1904 than in 1903, as with other regional stock exchanges in major cities excluding New York. Trust companies in 1904 traded 18,440 shares for $3,567,591, banks traded 5,698 shares valued at $1,548,878, mining stocks of 17,077 were traded for $7,866, and miscellaneous stocks saw 12,144 shares traded for $770,767. A great deal of business was also done with United Railways, St. Louis Transit Company, and Brown Brothers. Total transactions in 1904 came to $10.5 million, against $16.4 million in 1903. On November 13, 1908, The New York Times reported that stock value in St. Louis banks and trusts companies had increased by $3,020,000 since October 31, due to a "complete revival of confidence" in the St. Louis Stock Exchange. The times stated that brokers related that it was the heaviest buying the city had seen in three years, leaving them "almost unable to accommodate their patrons." Stock value and trading was for companies such as the Mercantile Trust Company, the Boatmen's Bank, the Mechanics' American National Bank, the National Bank of Commerce, and industrial and manufacturing stocks such as the American Car and Foundry Company. On November 13, the latter announced it would reopen its Detroit shops soon as a result on secured contracts.
Financial crisis of 1914
After closing for four months during a financial crisis on July 30, 1914, the president of the exchange board of directors announced on December 4, 1914, that the St. Louis Stock Exchange would open the following week. In a meeting on December 7, the governors of the exchange had a special meeting and voted to resume trading in stocks unanimously, with price restrictions and after assurances that bankers believed the financial situation had improved. The meeting noted 180 stocks made public, out of the 565 issues on the board. A statement from the exchange's Committee of Five asserted that the exchange would open again on Saturday, December 12, with hours resuming between 10 and 3 o'clock each day except Saturday, when dealings ended at noon. On the reopening, the Times reported that "opening prices were steady and demand for high-grade securities good."
Market and policy changes
On April 13, 1926, directors of the exchange voted to extend trading time from 75 minutes to two and a half hours, from 10 am to 12:30 pm except Saturday, "thereby placing the local exchange on a parity with exchanges in other cities." The board also established stock lists of trading quotations. As of early 1927, Harry S. Rein was chairman of the exchange. On January 12, 1927, he announced that in 1925, the exchange had seen stock sales totaling 591,966 shares, or $32,087,323. In 1926, it had fallen to a total of 382,856 shares, or $17,101,763 in value.
On March 26, 1929, the exchange saw a session close without an issue scoring a gain, as "nine issues reached new lows" for the year.
On April 5, 1938, the exchange elected J. Gates Williams as president to succeed president Ben F. Jacobs.