What's the point in a S&P pit?

I have cnbc on behind me and just noticed Rick Santeli near the s&p pit.

I didn't really understand how the guys in the pit add any value whatsoever to trading this contract.


What am I missing?

 

The traders in the S&P pit make money trading in the pit. If they couldn't make money the pit would go away.

 

Watch the movie called "Trading Places" with Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy, you'll understand.

 

Ok, so what you're saying is the guys in the pit make money but the customers that send in the orders get no added benefit?

Isn't the s&p so liquid that customers that send orders down to the pit may as well trade the mini's?

 

very simply this...yesterday the ICE exchange went down!!!....the ICE has no floor to trade out when the electronic exchange goes down...it is all electronic...so, you would have had NO WAY to get out of a position if in one when ICE went down yesterday...if you were in a CME Globex SP trade and Globex went down...then you could trade out on the CME sp pit!!!!!!...there is your answer...BIG time...enough for me...a big lesson was learned yeaterday from the ICE 'meltdown' yesterday...

 

A brain?
Why is The NYSE floor still open....tradition pinhead.

 

So far we have

A: Hollywood movie?

B. So a few guys can take advantage of
order flow.

C: Tradition

D: Power outage backup


Not much value so far.

 

ICE, ICE baby

If there was a problem, Yo - I'll solve it!

check out the hook while my DJ revolves it

 

Translation---------The "old farts" at the CME want a way to make money without having to learn what a computer screen is.

 

Plenty of stocks that don't have much liquidity at all and the specialist absolutely adds value.

Also, the s&p is an INDEX of STOCKS so it would never get really 'out of wack' because arbs would kick in.

You're not making any sense.