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CME

Technique

Hands are held with fingers extended and brought together at 45-degree angle.

Origin

Roof of house.

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Brokerage House

Participants CME Brokerage House
1 of 32
Participants CME Brokerage House
Hands are held with fingers extended and brought together at 45-degree angle.
Roof of house.
Participants CME Brokerage House version 2
One hand is held at 45-degree angle with fingers extended.
Roof of house (shorthand version).
Participants CME Local Traders
Hand is held above head with index finger extended downward, then rotated in circles.
Most traders in the pit are locals.
Participants CME Brokerage - REFCO
Thumb and index finger are pressed together and held to mouth.
Smoking a joint.
Participants CME Brokerage - Carr
Fist is held at arm's length and moved in side-to-side arc.
Steering a car.
Participants CME Brokerage - Deutsche Bank
Index finger is extended and held beneath nose.
Hitler's mustache.
Participants CME Brokerage - Goldman Sachs
Hand is held palm outward and thumb is folded to touch ring ringer.
Wedding ring.
Participants CME Brokerage - Merrill Lynch
Index and pinky fingers are extended from fist.
Horns of Merrill Lynch bull logo.
Participants CME Brokerage - Shearson Lehman
Index and middle fingers are opened and closed while moving across body.
Cutting shears.
Participants CME Brokerage - Bear Stearns
Hand is held palm outward with all fingers curled.
Bear claw.
Participants CME Brokerage - Paine Webber
Hand slaps back of neck.
Pain in the neck.
Participants CME Brokerage - Swiss Bank
Index finger is extended outward and draws the letter "S" in the air.
"S" is first letter of the firm's name.
Participants CME Brokerage - E.F. Hutton
Thumb and index finger tug earlobe.
Famous advertisement: "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen."
Participants CME Brokerage - Credit Suisse First Boston
Hand mimics drinking tea.
Boston Tea Party.
Participants CME Brokerage - Bankers Trust
Fingers are wrapped around knot in tie.
Bankers' ties.
Participants CME Brokerage - Hammer Trading
Hand mimics banging hammer.
Mimic hammer in hand.
Participants CME Trader - SCPE
One hand rings eye and other extends out in circular form as if holding spyglass.
Trader's last name sounds similar to "scope."
Participants CME Trader - BTH
Fingers are held to face and mimic scratching beard.
Trader's last name rhymes with "beard."
Participants CME Trader - LBJ
Cheeks are filled with air.
Trader was known to be loud and exuberant.

Participants

The ability to recognize all market participants was what made open outcry trading transparent and from this, signals were developed for the larger brokerages and for some large local traders. In cases where a more universal signal was never developed, their hand signal in the pit would simply be their three digit firm number.

Hand Signals Gallery

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