Grafton High School teams competed against 5 other schools and a total of 27 teams at the recent Virginia Stock Market Challenge. At the event, teams of four are issued $500,000 in mock trading dollars that they use to purchase fictitious stock prior to the opening bell. Once the event has begun, every 80 seconds is a new day on the stock-trading floor! There are 60 days of trading in total. Teams must track their stocks. They must then act accordingly, purchasing or selling stocks by attracting a "floor trader". The "traders" roam the room with hand held computers that automatically send teams orders via wireless transmissions instantly into the system. Trades are reflected immediately on the three large projection screens, which track stock prices, leading teams and graphical depictions of stock performance. At the end of the event, the team with the highest portfolio value wins an award.
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