The major stock indexes were little changed in light trading on Wednesday morning as the market reopened after a two-day shutdown caused by Hurricane Sandy.
A bevy of TV news crews and camera-toting tourists thronged the New York Stock Exchange for the opening, but the famed trading floor betrayed little that was unusual.
A small crowd enveloped Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City as he briefly stepped onto the floor to greet exchange workers. He later took to the balcony overlooking the pits to ring the opening bell, flanked by Duncan L. Niederauer, the chief executive of NYSE Euronext, and Robert Steel, a deputy mayor.
As the familiar clang rang through the hall for the first time this week, a small cheer erupted from the floor.
The dozen staffers at “the ramp,†an important N.Y.S.E nerve center on the floor, scanned a wall of monitors to check on market activity.
Milling about the floor was Larry Leibowitz, NYSE Euronext's chief operating officer, checking on the state of operations. It was his second straight day at the exchange, having waded from his home to Wall Street and slept there overnight.
“There have been very few, very isolated problems,†he said. He pointed to blank monitors that were shut off because the data provider was providing incorrect market data.
“If that's the worst of our problems, we're in good shape,†he added.
Mr. Leibowitz's boss, Mr. Niederauer, seemed pleased as well. Wednesday was his first day back at the exchange since last week, having worked remotely because he could not come into the city.
“We're pleased to see the turnout of staff,†he said, with many market makers being nearly fully represented.
He said that many technical issues had been resolved, though technicians from Verizon were on hand to patch spotty communications and network connections. Many trading firms resorted to sharing working Internet and phone lines, w hile specialists ducked outside to get cellphone service unavailable on the floor.
At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.11 percent; the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was down 0.16 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 0.55 percent.
Several specialists said that in some ways, the morning had been easier. Commuting was smoother, they said, with little traffic on the road and the exchange providing special dispensation to park on nearby streets.
Jonathan D. Corpina, a senior managing partner at Meridian Equity Partners, came armed with a flashlight to navigate the darkened streets of lower Manhattan. But he found it easy to find the exchange, illuminated thanks to backup generators, and dive into work.
“We're here filling orders, and it's business as usual,†he said.
Another trader, Peter Costa, said that he noticed little unusual activity, except perhaps slightly lower volume.
“To me, this feels like a Monday, but on a Wednesday,†he said.
