How does the stock market operate ?
354033
This is kind of like asking how the government works. Its a little too broad a question. But basically when you buy stock, you buy a "small piece of the company" that can either go up or down in price for whatever reason. The stock markets are where these orders get traded. Its difficult to learn a lot about it because the more you know the less you need help from financial professionals. Just remember there are a lot of smart people with big money in the market and they want to get all the profit and stick the smaller fish with the losses. Wall Street Journal put out a book that shows you how to read the WSJ newspaper. Its a good way to learn about the market and the overall economy.I learned about the market from AM financial radio shows. Although they are always selling you something, if you listen close you can get alot of free advice. Between that and actually getting into the market I learned a ton. Just remember its all a risk and if you can't lose than don't play. Good Luck !
188749
Everyone is different and as a result, different people look at different things before they purchase a stock.\n\nI suggest you get a book or five on stock market investing and start learning as much as you can if you want to become good at it.\n\nAnd by the way, companies that cater to people who invest in the stock market by selling them up-to-date information and analysis charge hefty fees for their services, so I wouldn't plan on doing this without a nice, big nest egg to begin with and a good job to back yourself up when things go against you and you lose some money.
184906
OK, this is very broad and general question, so here goes a very broad and general answer.  On the surface, the stock market is quite simply a place where people get together to trade issues of public company's equity.  It is in essence, no different than a farmers market in the sense that there are buyers and sellers of "things".  The stock market is a highly organized medium for making these trades happen.  Underneath the surface, the stock market is a place where people, IE: investors, express their opinions about many different issues such as politics, the economy, globalization, wars, corruption, and just about everything you can imagine.  Those views are reflected in the price that market instruments trade for. I really could keep writing here infinitely, but I'll wrap it up by saying that, once again, the stock market is a place where trades allow investors to express their opinion about the equities that underlie those trades.  Hope this helps.
205298
They usually trade on the exchange of the underlying security.  Most have a small market so prices can be spotty.
30871
Stock is the capital raised by a corporation through the issue of shares entitling holders to an ownership interest (equity); "he owns a controlling share of the company's stock" \n\nStock exchange is ther ordered marketplace where brokers and dealers meet to buy and sell stocks of publicly traded companies on behalf of investors. Major US stock exchanges include the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the NASD and the American Stock Exchange. The NYSE is where most of the largest, most actively traded companies in the United States are listed. Many countries have stock exchanges where shares of companies in that country are traded.
248796
The stock market is simply a meeting place of buyers and sellers.\n\nThe price at which stocks are sold is simply where they agree on the value of that stock.\n\nIf there are an equal number of buyers and sellers with an equal proportion of sentiment then the price will never change.\n\nWhen a stock price changes it's because there is an oversupply of buyers or sellers.\n\nSo in the case of a stock price dropping, more people want to sell than buy and therefore the price is pushed down by those sellers until it reaches a new equilibrium.\n\nThe cause of people selling is varied.  Some people sell because of a bad newspaper article.  Some people sell because they want to buy a new car.  Some mutual funds sell because of a reweighting of their portfolio.  Some traders sell because a particular level has been reached.  Some people sell because of change in the fundamentals of the company (sales, profits, market competition etc.).  There's probably another 100 reasons that could be added here.\n\nOne thing about the market is that it's like a herd and often movements cause more movements in the same direction.\n\nCheers,\nRichard.
622826
Since this question is in the "Investing" category, I'll assume that it pertains to investing.\n\nThe answer is...it depends.  There is a theory that the markets are efficient, meaning that new information is digested and reflected in, for example, a stock price the moment it becomes availble.  Under that theory, new information is not helpful because the stock price will already reflect that information by the time you read it.\n\nOn the other hand, for general investment advice, strategic long-term plans and other such things, information can be extremely helpful.  You can see a variety of viewpoints and approaches, then decide on which fits your particular financial situation.  Hope that helps.
1111923
Stock market......\n\nStarbucks is hot stuff...
129247
Stock traders and investors share the responsibility of financing equity for corporations worldwide. Those able to profit from their operations consistently are among the highest level businesspeople in the world. Many people do gamble on stocks. It doesn't have to be like a casino, but many people treat it that way.\n\nOn a basic blackjack hand, when you lose, you lose 100%. In the stock market, you (usually) get to decide how much you lose. My absolute limit is 7%, but usually less. With time you can learn to hold stocks until they go up at least 21%. In this way you have built a 1:3 risk reward / ratio. Try getting that in any casino.\n\nThe stock market will give you all the risk you want. Managing that risk like a professional is the key to success.
347891
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_exchange\n\nwikipedia is really good for information!\nhope this helps!
667301
There's sooooo much poor information here.\n\nWhen you invest in most stocks the Stock Exchange manages things so you are guaranteed to find a buyer if you're selling and guaranteed to find a seller if you're buying.  The large banks are granted favourable trading terms in return for being in the market and quoting a price to take those 200 MSFT shares off your hands.  They can drop the price they're prepared to pay when more people are selling than buying but they commit to being in the market and quoting a price most of the time.\n\nPink Sheets and Over The Counter are basically the same thing (the name Pink Sheets comes from the fact that closing prices were printed and distributed at the end of the trading day on pink paper).  It is a seperate market for stocks not quoted on the main market.  Basically, when you want to buy or sell a stock there is no guarantee there will be anyone prepared to trade with you.  The more popular stocks normally trade reasonably well but there are thousands of stocks on the OTC market that trade no volume for weeks at a time.  Most of the shareholders will be held privately and if no one is prepared to sell you're not going to be able to buy.  If you are able to find a seller you run the risk of paying a large spread (the difference between the buy and sell price).  On the main market the buy or sell price for MSFT will be the same.  On the OTC market the buy price for a stock might be $10 higher than the sell price.\n\nThe biggest danger is that something happens to the stock while you're holding it and you find yourself locked in.  If I buy MSFT I can sell the stock seconds after bad news is announced by going to my PC and logging onto my brokerage account.  If I hold OTC stock I can only sell my stock if there's someone out there prepared to buy.\n\nOTC stocks are not neceessarily up and coming, as with penny stocks choose very carefully.  Stocks quote on the OTC market for a number of reasons, and there are definately some bargains out there.  But it is much much more risky than the main market.
1140743
I dont know what kind of answer you're expecting. I'm New York USA. We have the Nasdaq, S&P 500, New York Stock Exchange and a few others. Stocks go up and down. You would need to learn alot about stocks and how they work before "getting into stocks". \nStock  101. A small company decides they will incorpate their business. When they incorporate they give stocks to other members of the company. These members are then shareholders. Each share has a worth. It could be $0.20 or $20.00 or anything else. As more people buy the cost of shares rise. As more people sell the cost of shares drops. People get ansy about buying stocks. It's like gambling. You don't know if the your shares will go up or down. People study the company and the market. For instance, Someone has designed a machine that will make typing a letter much easier than using a typewriter. With a typewriter you have to press hard on the keyboard. You must buy ribbon. You must buy correctype and if you want a different font you will nead to buy a new daisy wheel or other item in order to change the font. This new machine will prevent more error because it allows you to see the words before they reach the paper, which give you a chance to backspace without using white out or correct type. No wasted ink. Less paper to throw away because less mistakes are made. And hey my machine even has a spell check. The person who invented the machine has already told all his friends. He has an article in the newspaper. Some reporter had an interview with him. He has even written a short book about it and some new other inventions he has lined up. He has a 10 year patent on his machine. Now keep in mind that the manufacturer of the old typewriter has many "shareholders". The manufacturer of the correct type or white out also has share holders. The Ribbon Manufacturer also has shareholder and the manufacturer of the ink for the ribbon also has shareholders. The new typewriter is called a word processor. He going to sell his new word processor to book publishing companies first. Then hes going "Go Public" and have the outside public buy shares. He just announced the new and improved word processor for the home office. Its lighter and more affordable. It will be just a matter of time before the old typewriter is out of business. A smart shareholder would sell his stock once he/she read or heard of this new invention and start buying shares of the manufacturers of the material (sony, toshiba, texas instruments) of the new machine as well as the new machine (brother, panasonic).\nAnother example: You know that there was a tsunami that destroyed the cities where the largest manufacturer (Company A) of computer memory chips were manufactured. You also know that the second largest manufacturer (Company B) of computer memory chips will now become the largest until Company A gets back on its feet. You had shares in Company A. Well you are going to sell those or just expect a major loss but you've thought ahead and borrowed some money and purchased a huge amount of stocks from Company B. Smart move unless you did'nt read that there was another Company A manufacturing plant in another city not affected by the tsunami.\nDepending on how much you want to invest and on what kind of risks to take will determine how you want to invest. High Risk = Stock Broker. Low Risk = Mutual Funds, CD's, Treasury Bonds.\nI would suggest speaking with stock broker. But be very weary, they are bigger snakes than used care salesmen.
503537
The difference between the Nasdaq and the NYSE is:\n\n1. The Nasdaq is traded electronically.  All of the trades are executed by computer which leaves little human error.\n2. The NYSE is done by people.  When you see TV shows and movies (like Trading Places with Eddie Murphy)there are people in a pit that are waving their hands back and forth.  They are doing manually what the Nasdaq does on the computer.  If you go to the Nasdaq website: www.nasdaq.com you should be able to get your questions answered. \n\nOn your second question: bid v. ask, the bid price is what most investors on the aggregate are willing to pay for a stock, and the ask price is what the holders of the stock are willing to sell it for.  It is the old supply and demand principles at work.
777831
Study the art of stats & the stock market.
54179
it depends on what you mean by "efficient"\n\nin general, markets do seem to move in a "random walk" and seem so efficient it's hard to outperform them.\n\nthere are statistics that say 75%+ of fund managers FAIL to outperform the market.... that is, most managers do LESS than the "average"(market)\n\nalthough some do much better.  oh well.
76047
It really depends on the length of your trade.\n\nSome trades run through the day - then the trade could be fully technical or fully based on news.\n\nOther trades can run through months - just letting the trade run with the profits. With that you would be using both technical as well as fundamental to plot out an exit plan as the stock moves to become even more profitable.\n\nIn my opinion, behavioural aspects of the markets are all represented in the charts.
733721
A capital market allows investors (institutional and private) to participate in the success of a wide variety of different markets and industries with limited liability.   A capital market really is just a stock market.   Returns are based on the success of the firm using the capital.  If a company captures economic profits all owners (theoretically) should benefit in porpotion to their interests.