When investing in stocks for the first time, you need to start with knowing the basics of stock market investing. The stock market is complicated and can fluctuate wildly. A good investment can turn into millions whereas a bad investment can leave you penniless. Learn the basics of stock market investing before you actually invest to save yourself money, time and efforts.

The basics of stock market investing starts with finding out what the stock market is. You can learn about stock exchanges, how the money system works and how the stock market functions. There are many stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.

Not only there are stock exchanges in the US and Europe, there are stock exchanges everywhere. Good basics of stock market investing guides will tell you about other countries' stock exchanges because people often invest in international markets for greater diversifications. The more you know about stock investing in your home market and abroad, the wiser you are as an investor.

Stocks come in many types. When you learn the basics of stock market investing, you will undoubtedly learn about different types of stocks to invest in. Not all types are great investments. Different types of stocks have different risks as well as different rewards. Some types of stocks are very risky whereas others are safer. Based on your investment goal, you may want to invest in all types of stocks to diversify your portfolio.

Large cap stocks are often more stable than mid cap stocks or small cap stocks as you will learn in your basics of stock market investing study. By investing in all cap stocks, you can be more sure that when large cap stocks are not doing so great, at least you have other caps to offset the losses. However, lots more types of investments are needed for truly diversified portfolios.

Some investors love to invest in dividend paying stocks. Stocks that pay dividends are great for investors who want regular income. You can reinvest the dividends into buying more stocks and grow your portfolio that way. However, bear in mind that sometimes companies do not pay dividends especially when they are not profiting so don't expect to always receive dividends from dividend paying stocks.

Studying the basics of stock market investing is extremely important when you don't want to risk money in the stock market or leave your investment to chances. There are many 'basics of stock market investing' guides out there that are free for you to read. Learn what can about stock market investing before you start an investment portfolio.