The Stock Market ? A Primer



Stock exchange can refer either a virtual platform where stocks are traded or a real building in which stock trading activities take place. People often mistakenly use the terms stock exchange and stock market synonymously. Stock market is a wider term that includes, trading, stock performance, stock charts and stock exchange. So the term stock exchange is one of the elements of stock market.

Some of the major stock exchanges in the US are NASDAQ, AMEX and NYSE. If you wish to convert your company to a public limited company you must issue shares using any of these exchanges. There are companies that list their shares in more than one stock exchange; this happens especially when the company opens up the trade in more than one country.

Stock exchanges work only between certain hours of the day which is normally between 9.30 am and 4.00 pm. Today the traders have the advantage of the internet and they can trade around the world as long as they are working within the trading hours of the respective country. To trade in stock exchanges you need trading accounts. You can either use a stock broker or you can trade directly through the use of an online trading account. When you use the services of a stock broker you must pay his brokerage fee. Stock brokers charge you based on the number of transactions they make in your account irrespective of the profit or loss that is made out of that transaction. So you will have to keep track of the transactions your stock broker makes because most stock brokers make unnecessary transactions to make more money. If you use an online trading account you can engage in trade yourself and save the brokerage fee. The disadvantage here is that you will have to depend on your own knowledge to make profit. Many people when they enter into stock trading will use the services of a stock broker until they learn the basic principles and gradually they will start trading on their own through an online account.

Stock ticker is a tool that helps both beginners and experts alike in online trading. It displays the latest price of the shares and other useful information such as fluctuations in the price. A stock ticker also keeps track of the price changes to help you analyze the pattern of changes that are undergone by a particular company's stocks. They present the data in a format that can be easily understood and they use a simple set of symbols to present the data in a concise fashion. Some of the basic information that you can find in the display of a stock ticker are ? company's symbol, its share value and stock value comparison with the previous day's value.

So it is possible for everyone to enter into stock trading and be successful. Today there are lot of tools and guides available on the internet for the beginners. Online courses on the basics of stock market and stock trading are also available today for those interested.