Chapter 635: Marching into the U.S. Stock Market!

New York. Times Square!

Standing at the foot of the Condé Nast building, Li Yi looked somewhat dazed!

This wasn’t his first time here; in his previous life, he had visited six times.

Four of those times were as part of investment groups, where he made a tidy profit, and the other two were to ring the opening bell!

Returning here now, he couldn’t help but feel that while the place remained the same, the people had changed.

When it comes to the Condé Nast Building, people outside the financial world may not know much about it, but if you mention the Nasdaq Stock Market—one of the three major U.S. stock markets—the vast majority of people have likely heard of it.

That’s right—the Condé Nast Building is home to the Nasdaq Stock Market’s trading floor. At its peak, it hosted over 5,000 listed companies with a total market capitalization exceeding 15 trillion US dollars!

Once inside the building, the dedicated Billy immediately took on the role of tour guide and narrator, talking nonstop to Li Yi about the history of the NASDAQ Stock Market: “Boss, the NASDAQ Stock Market was founded and is managed by the National Association of Securities Dealers in 1971. It was the world’s first electronic trading market…”

As Billy spoke at length about the exchange, Li Yi listened intently, even though he was already quite familiar with the place.

Upon entering the building, Li Yi saw a scene completely different from that of the gold futures market.

There were none of the hardware facilities typically found in a stock exchange; instead, there was a massive trading floor with numerous electronic screens suspended in the center, displaying the prices of various stocks—a sight that looked incredibly advanced and almost sci-fi for that era.

Moreover, although the building was crowded, there was none of the chaotic shouting of bids and offers found in the gold futures market. Everyone’s gaze was fixed intently on the electronic ticker suspended in the center of the hall, and they were constantly scribbling notes with pen and paper.

In short, the trading methods here seem completely different from those in other stock markets.

In fact, this was indeed the case; the NASDAQ stock exchange utilized an automated quotation system rather than the traditional method of shouting out prices.

Seeing such a simple and convenient quotation system in use here, their companions—Lan Xinyi, Cai Bingyan, and others—were stunned. Compared to Hong Kong Island, this place was simply too advanced.

Noticing that Li Yi and the others seemed very interested in the Nasdaq Stock Market’s quotation method, Billy immediately explained, “The automated quotation system used here was officially launched in 1971. It provides the market with high-speed, accurate stock price information. With this system, even ordinary people can understand stock price fluctuations, making securities trading much more convenient.”

Li Yi took a close look at the electronic display and quickly spotted several familiar companies, including Apple and Intel.

As the world’s first electronic trading market, the Nasdaq is primarily home to high-tech companies, including those in software, computing, telecommunications, biotechnology, and retail and wholesale trade.

In Li Yi’s understanding, the current Nasdaq was equivalent to the ChiNext board in the domestic securities market, except that it had started earlier and had a larger market size.

“Billy, I recall that you don’t restrict foreigners from entering the stock market here, do you?” Li Yi asked.

“That’s right. The government doesn’t care whether you’re a U.S. citizen or not!” Billy confirmed.

“So if I want to trade a particular stock right now, what exactly do I need to do?” Li Yi asked again.

“You’ll need to go to a brokerage firm during trading hours with your passport to open a stock account and deposit the necessary funds, and then you’ll be able to trade stocks!”

Billy continued, “If you don’t have a lot of capital to invest, you can also have our firm manage it for you. The fees aren’t high, and it helps avoid some unnecessary risks, but…”

“But what?” Li Yi asked immediately.

“But the companies listed on the Nasdaq are mostly high-tech firms. Their market capitalizations are generally high, and the risk factor is much higher than on the NYSE or the AMEX. Are you really sure you want to invest in this market?” Billy said.

Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s fine. I’m just trying it out for fun. I don’t plan on investing too much money right now!”

It’s true that the stock market carries risks, but when Li Yi saw Apple’s stock price of $22 on the ticker, he didn’t feel like saying anything else—he was just going to do it!

Can you believe Apple’s stock price is $22?

This is Apple, after all. Forty years later, the company’s stock price reached $182, with a market capitalization exceeding $3 trillion—equivalent to the GDP of the world’s fifth-largest economy, trailing only the United States, China, Japan, and Germany.

More importantly, the current Apple only went public last year, and only 4.6 million shares were offered in the initial public offering—these are genuine founding shares.

Over the next 40 years, these shares will undergo four stock splits, and the stock price will increase 500-fold overall.

It’s safe to say that if you buy these shares now, you’ll make a fortune in the future even with your eyes closed—far more than you’d make investing in a traditional courtyard house in China.

And right now, aside from Apple, there are dozens of tech giants—big and small, including Intel—waiting for Li Yi to choose from; there’s simply no risk involved.

With that in mind, Li Yi turned to Zhou Xinghua beside him and asked, “Assistant Zhou, how much capital do we have available right now?”

“No more than 15 million US dollars, and at least 5 million of that needs to be set aside for daily expenses and emergencies!” Zhou Xinghua replied.

“Set aside 10 million. Consider it a temporary loan from me. If we lose it, I’ll make it up later!” Li Yi said casually.

“Alright!”

Zhou Xinghua agreed without hesitation!

On the one hand, this money belonged to Li Yi in the first place, so there was no issue with him temporarily appropriating it.

On the other hand, as Li Fuzhao’s most trusted right-hand man, Li Fuzhao had specifically instructed Zhou Xinghua before he left to follow Li Yi’s orders in everything once he arrived here.

While Zhou Xinghua was busy transferring the funds, Li Yi immediately turned to Billy and said, “Please explain the trading rules here to me!”

Although he was fairly familiar with most of the local rules, the ones he knew were from decades in the future and likely differed significantly from the current ones.

Billy, of course, didn’t refuse Li Yi’s request.

Clearing his throat, he began explaining the trading rules of the NASDAQ stock market to Li Yi: “NASDAQ operates on a T+0 system, meaning you can buy and sell on the same day, and there are no daily price limits set for individual stocks…”

Li Yi listened intently, comparing Billy’s explanation to the trading rules of his own time.

Although some of the current rules were indeed quite different from those of the future, the core trading principles hadn’t changed much, which put Li Yi at ease.

An hour later, thanks to Zhou Xinghua’s efforts, $10 million was transferred into the stock account designated by Sharp Corporation.

With that, Li Yi officially entered the U.S. stock market on the NASDAQ!

However, just as Li Yi was preparing to dabble in the U.S. stock market while waiting for gold prices to plummet, the situation in Hong Kong took a sudden turn—storms were brewing…

……….