Participants in the stock market range from small individual stock investors to large hedge fund traders, who can be based anywhere. Their orders usually end up with a professional at a stock exchange, who executes the order.
Some exchanges are physical locations where transactions are carried out on a trading floor, by a method known as open outcry. This type of auction is used in stock exchanges and commodity exchanges where traders may enter “verbal” bids and offers simultaneously. The other type of exchange is a virtual kind, composed of a network of computers where trades are made electronically via traders.
Actual trades are based on an auction market paradigm where a potential buyer bids a specific price for a stock and a potential seller asks a specific price for the stock. (Buying or selling at market means you will accept any ask price or bid price for the stock, respectively.) When the bid and ask prices match, a sale takes place on a first come first served basis if there are multiple bidders or askers at a given price.
The purpose of a stock exchange is to facilitate the exchange of securities between buyers and sellers, thus providing a marketplace (virtual or real). The exchanges provide real-time trading information on the listed securities, facilitating price discovery.
The New York Stock Exchange is a physical exchange, also referred to as a listed exchange — only stocks listed with the exchange may be traded. Orders enter by way of exchange members and flow down to a specialist, who goes to the floor trading post to trade stock. The specialist’s job is to match buy and sell orders using open outcry. If a spread exists, no trade immediately takes place–in this case the specialist should use his/her own resources (money or stock) to close the difference after his/her judged time. Once a trade has been made the details are reported on the “tape” and sent back to the brokerage firm, which then notifies the investor who placed the order. Although there is a significant amount of human contact in this process, computers play an important role, especially for so-called “program trading”.
The NASDAQ is a virtual listed exchange, where all of the trading is done over a computer network. The process is similar to the New York Stock Exchange. However, buyers and sellers are electronically matched. One or more NASDAQ market makers will always provide a bid and ask price at which they will always purchase or sell ‘their’ stock. [1].
The Paris Bourse, now part of Euronext, is an order-driven, electronic stock exchange. It was automated in the late 1980s. Prior to the 1980s, it consisted of an open outcry exchange. Stockbrokers met on the trading floor or the Palais Brongniart. In 1986, the CATS trading system was introduced, and the order matching process was fully automated.
From time to time, active trading (especially in large blocks of securities) have moved away from the ‘active’ exchanges. Securities firms, led by UBS AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Credit Suisse Group, already steer 12 percent of U.S. security trades away from the exchanges to their internal systems. That share probably will increase to 18 percent by 2010 as more investment banks bypass the NYSE and NASDAQ and pair buyers and sellers of securities themselves, according to data compiled by Boston-based Aite Group LLC, a brokerage-industry consultant.
Now that computers have eliminated the need for trading floors like the Big Board’s, the balance of power in equity markets is shifting. By bringing more orders in-house, where clients can move big blocks of stock anonymously, brokers pay the exchanges less in fees and capture a bigger share of the $11 billion a year that institutional investors pay in trading commissions
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4 Comments
Start by listening to Financial Sense News Hour every weekend.http://www.FinancialSense.com
These people are MILES ahead of anyone else I have come across in the investing arena.
This is such a broad question. This answer could be a book. Is there something more specific you can ask?
Check out this site, they have heaps of great guides and free info if you join their mailing list:http://www.thestockmarkets.info/
Hope that helps
See this 2 articles:
1-Basic Facts about the Stock Market
You can’t go far in today’s world without hearing something about the stock market. Unfortunately, the media take for granted that all of us in the audience understand the stock market. The good news if you don’t have a clue how to interpret all of those stock symbols running in the ticker at the bottom of your screen you’re not alone.
But that’s about to change. Below is an overview of some of things you need to know about the stock market.
Stock Market Background
The purpose of the stock market is to allow businesses to grow and to let investors have a way of earning money. Let me give you an example on a very small scale. Your child opens up a lemonade stand in your neighborhood for a week. She earns a decent profit and decides to open up a second stand at her grandparent’s house. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have enough money for the expansion. Other kids could pitch to cover the costs and receive a portion of the profits she makes.
That’s exactly what happens every day in the stock markets all over the world with thousands of different companies and millions of stockholders.
How to Invest in the Market, Stock Purchasing Guidelines
If you want to purchase stocks, you’ll want to form a relationship with a stock trader. These are individuals who work in the stock exchange, through virtual stock exchanges, or with trading software. You’ll give them your money, tell them what you want to buy, and they’ll complete the transaction on your behalf. For this service, they do receive a commission on the transactions.
Some people also use their traders for stock advice. However, you can make your own choices about which stock to buy. Obviously, the secret to making money is to purchase stock at a lower price and sell it at a higher price. That may sound overly simplistic but it’s this thinking that drives all investors.
Another idea to understand is supply and demand because this affects the prices in the market; stock prices go up and down based on this basic principles. For example, if lots of investors realize that big is happening for a company they may all decide to purchase stock in that company. That decision increases demand for that stock thus raising the price. On the other hand, if the same company has a poor financial quarter many investors may start selling off stock which means the supply is increasing and the price drops.
Earning Money from Stocks
Another question you might have is how you earn money from the stocks. As a stockholder, you receive a portion of the company’s profits. When the company determines their earnings and deduct all of their expenses, they are left with their profit. That profit is divided by the number of stockholders and each receives a portion. For example, if you own 1% of a company which generated $2 million in profit then you would earn $20,000 for your stock. If the company doesn’t make any profits, however, you don’t receive anything.
Arkaitz Arteaga MarketStock.net
2-Start making money with Stock Market
Making your first stock trade can be quite intimidating. There is new language and symbols that you don’t always understand. You can reduce your stress by following a few easy steps.
Step1. Learn the language of the trade. Find out about the types of orders you can place. A market order is one that you buy at whatever price the stock is at the moment you place the order. This type of purchase is not for the first time investor. Instead, use a buy/limit order. The buy/limit order limits the maximum price that you pay for the stock. If the stock is available for a lower price you get that price. The same concept is true for sell/limits, but it is the lowest price you want to sell your stock.
Step 2. Decide if you are long-term or short-term buying. In order to make money in the stock market you need to identify the plan you want to follow. A short-term buyer looks for the easy, but frequently small, movements of the stock and buys or sells accordingly. Long term buyers seek out stocks that they believe substantially appreciate over a period. Microsoft millionaires got the penny stock as a bonus, because it was worth so little many just held on to it and later were delighted they did.
Step 3. Choose an area you know something about. A stock club of women made fortunes by stopping at restaurant chains, visiting stores and consuming the products of the companies they bought. One of the best mutual fund managers in specialty stock used this practice to become the top manager in the nation. When you choose a stock for a long-term investment, know the business.
Step 4. Watch the price fluctuation. Each stock has a different rhythm. The short-term buyer watches that rhythm and works with it. If you find a stock that you like and notice it has an up and down, almost predictable price, use the information to make additional money. Put a buy/limit order in at the low end of the cycle.
You may miss an opportunity by pennies, but if it is truly a repeating cycle the opportunity comes back again. Wait until you purchase the stock and immediately place a sell/limit order for the higher end of the cycle. Make sure the spread between the two is enough to cover the cost of both trades and make a profit. If the cycle is continuous, do this repeatedly.
Step 5. Concentrate on one or two stocks. When you begin to trade, it’s easy to jump all over and buy a little of several stocks. That is diversification, but costs you more in trades in the end than you make on profit. Focus on one or two stocks to begin your trading.
Step 6. Buy stocks with higher volume. Some of the penny stocks are tempting but when you notice the volume, it is quite small. This means that when you want to sell, there aren’t many people buying. Unloading the stock becomes difficult.
Step 7. See who manages the company. Some CEO’s have wonderful track records. If you notice that the CEO managed three previous companies and they all went belly up, he may not be bad, he may be the man they call in to close a company down. Check the management carefully.
Step 8. Track your trades. List the dates, share price and number of shares on one side and if you sell list the date and price on the other. Track the profit to see what percentage you take. You need these records for the IRS. Aim for a 10% to 15% profit on your money. In a down market, 8% is still good.
Arkaitz Arteaga MarketStock.net