Stock Market- Equities Market

Stock markets are important to part of every investor's portfolio. Even if you don’t invest in shares, you may own some indirectly through a pension that invests in companies to make your retirement money grow. So it pays to know the basics of how investing in companies works. This can be the difference in making money or not making money.

The stock market is where you buy or sell stocks and shares . Major exchanges are in New York, Hong Kong, Paris, Japan, London, and there are also more. The best way to monitor the stock market is to purchase a newspaper such as the New York Times as they have a daily stock report.

Every stock or share is a piece of a company. Having a share in a company entitles you to share in the growth and profits of the company. You should get reports often on the accounting and activities of the company. Every year your company should have a general meeting where you are allowed to speak. This is important because you can have a say—even if it's small—on the direction the company is going and on anything you may disagree with.

When you buy stocks you are issued with a share certificate as proof that you own the shares. The value on the shares is located on the certificate to show the price you bought the stock at and you only need it for legal reasons typically.

The amount you are paid as a shareholder is in the form of a dividend. This payout typically does occur twice per year. However, if there are no profits, you get no money or dividends. You can make money on stocks when there is a thing called capital growth. If the company you are a shareholder of does well, its value will indeed rise, and so will the value of your shares. Of course this is what every shareholder wants.

If you use a broker to buy and sell your stocks, he can give you an idea of how much you can make if you sell your stock. There is a price to sell and a price that it is currently being bought or bid. There is a “spread” The price it is being bought for and the price you can sell it for are two different things and this is where your profit or loss comes into play.

Some thing to look at are the different types of markets. If there is a clear rise in the index over time this called a bull market. If the market is moving downwards clearly, it is a bear market. It is always ideal to sell of course when the market is doing well or it is a “bull market”. To buy you want to try and get it when the market is on its way back up however and people are shaky that it will begin being sluggish again and they will lose their money. Buying and selling are important and timing is everything. Your broker should be able to inform you of all this and make an informed decision.