What Are Stock Markets?
Stock markets are regulated venues where investors buy and sell ownership stakes in companies. These exchanges offer a structured environment that ensures fairness, transparency, and efficiency in the trading of securities.

Key Functions of Stock Markets
Capital Formation:

Companies raise funds by issuing shares through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).
This capital supports expansion, research, debt reduction, and other business initiatives.
Liquidity:

Stock markets allow investors to quickly convert their investments into cash by buying and selling shares.
Price Discovery:

Stock prices emerge from the interplay of supply and demand, reflecting the market’s collective view on a company’s current value and future prospects.
Investment Opportunities:

Markets provide access to a diverse array of companies, sectors, and asset classes for both individual and institutional investors.
Economic Indicators:

The performance of the stock market often mirrors the overall health of the economy—with rising markets suggesting growth and declining markets hinting at economic challenges.
How Stock Markets Work
Primary Market:

Companies issue new shares to the public via IPOs.
Investors purchase these shares directly from the issuer, providing essential capital.
Secondary Market:

Investors trade previously issued shares on exchanges such as the NYSE, NASDAQ, or LSE.
Prices fluctuate based on supply and demand, as well as factors like news, earnings reports, and economic data.
Market Participants:

Retail Investors: Individuals trading through brokerage accounts.
Institutional Investors: Entities like mutual funds, pension funds, and hedge funds.
Market Makers: Firms that ensure liquidity by consistently buying and selling securities.
Regulators: Organizations (e.g., the SEC in the U.S. or SEBI in India) that oversee fair and transparent trading practices.
Trading Mechanisms:

Stock exchanges use electronic systems to match buy and sell orders.
Orders can be executed immediately at current market prices (market orders) or at a pre-specified price (limit orders).
Major Stock Exchanges
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE):

The world’s largest exchange by market capitalization, featuring blue-chip companies like Apple, Coca-Cola, and Walmart.
NASDAQ:

An electronic exchange known for technology and growth companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Tesla.
London Stock Exchange (LSE):

One of Europe’s oldest and largest, listing companies like BP, Unilever, and AstraZeneca.
Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE):

Asia’s largest by market cap, home to industry giants like Toyota and Sony.
Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE):

A leading Chinese exchange featuring major companies like PetroChina and ICBC.
Types of Stock Markets
Equity Markets:

Focus on the trading of company shares, where returns are generated through capital gains and dividends.
Derivatives Markets:

Trade financial instruments (options, futures) that derive their value from underlying assets such as stocks or commodities.
Commodity Markets:

Facilitate trading in raw materials like gold, oil, and agricultural products, with some exchanges offering both equities and commodity options.
Forex Markets:

Dedicated to currency trading, forming a key part of the global financial system even though they are separate from stock markets.
Key Concepts in Stock Markets
Bull Market:

A phase of rising stock prices, typically fueled by economic expansion and investor confidence.
Bear Market:

A period marked by declining stock prices, often associated with economic downturns or negative sentiment.
Market Index:

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supply and demand

Prices move because of supply and demand. When demand is greater than supply, prices rise. When supply is greater than demand, prices fall. Sometimes, prices will move sideways as both supply and demand are in equilibrium.

Market psychology plays a major role as traders and investors remember the past and react to changing conditions to anticipate future market movement.

In the financial markets, prices are driven by supply (down) and demand (up) excesses. Supply is synonymous with bearish, bears, and selling. Demand is synonymous with bullish, bulls, and buying.

As demand increases, prices advance, and as supply increases, prices decline. When supply and demand are equal, prices move sideways as bulls and bears slug it out to gain control.

Support is the price level at which demand is considered strong enough to prevent the price from declining further.

Resistance is the price level at which selling is thought to be strong enough to prevent the price from rising further.

If a support or resistance level is broken, the relationship between supply and demand has changed. A resistance breakout signals that the bulls (demand) have gained the upper hand, and a support break signals that the bears (supply) have won the battle.


Equilibrium and Stock Strategy


Generally, an over-supply of goods or services causes prices to go down, which results in higher demand—while an under-supply or shortage causes prices to go up resulting in less demand.

The balancing effect of supply and demand results in a state of equilibrium.

A market is said to have reached equilibrium price when the supply of goods matches demand.
In reality, markets are never in perfect equilibrium, although prices do tend toward it.


What Happens During Market Equilibrium?
Stock Strategy

When a market is in equilibrium, prices reflect an exact balance between buyers (demand) and sellers (supply). While elegant in theory, markets are rarely in equilibrium at a given moment. Rather, equilibrium should be thought of as a long-term average level.


At each price, the sellers decide how many units they want to offer or supply at this price, and the buyers decide how many units they want to buy or demand. The quantity supplied will be higher, the higher the market price of the good, whereas the quantity demanded will be lower, and the higher the market price of the good.


supply and demand determine the pricing of stocks and other securities.
Economic data, interest rates, and corporate results influence the demand for stocks.
Market dynamics, economic conditions, and changes to economic policy tend to impact the overall supply of stocks.

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