The stock market is a global network of exchanges where shares of public companies change hands. Behind the flashing numbers, it's just millions of buyers and sellers agreeing on prices — one trade at a time.
What the stock market is
A marketplace. Companies raise money by selling shares to investors; investors trade those shares with each other. Prices reflect the current best guess about what each business is worth, updated constantly as new information arrives.
Exchanges and tickers
- NYSE — the New York Stock Exchange, home to many large industrials.
- Nasdaq — heavily electronic, dominated by technology names.
- LSE, TSE, HKEX, etc. — major exchanges in London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.
Each stock has a unique ticker — a short code like AAPL, MSFT, or TSLA — to identify it on the exchange.
Who's buying and selling
- Retail investors — individuals like you.
- Institutions — pension funds, mutual funds, sovereign wealth funds.
- Market makers — firms that quote both a buy and sell price to keep trading liquid.
- High-frequency traders — algorithms that trade in microseconds on tiny price gaps.
Why prices move
Every trade is a match between someone willing to sell and someone willing to buy at the same price. When more people want to buy than sell, the price rises until enough sellers appear. When the reverse is true, it falls. News, earnings, macro data, and pure sentiment all feed into that constant re-pricing.
Indexes and benchmarks
- S&P 500 — 500 large US companies, weighted by market cap.
- Nasdaq 100 — 100 largest non-financial Nasdaq companies.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average — 30 large US stocks, price-weighted (an outdated methodology, but the number still gets quoted).
- FTSE 100 / DAX / Nikkei 225 — flagship indexes for the UK, Germany, and Japan.
Market hours and cycles
Frequently asked questions
What causes a stock's price to change?
In the short term, supply and demand from buyers and sellers reacting to news, earnings, and sentiment. In the long term, changes in the underlying business — revenue, cash flow, and competitive position.
What's the difference between the NYSE and Nasdaq?
Both are US exchanges where stocks trade. NYSE is older and traditionally hosts more established industrials; Nasdaq is more electronic and hosts a heavier concentration of tech companies. From an investor's perspective, buying a share on either is essentially the same experience.
Is the stock market rigged against small investors?
There are structural advantages larger players enjoy — speed, information, access — but the biggest edge available to retail investors (long time horizons and no career risk) is genuinely valuable and unavailable to most professionals.
Put this into practice
Open a real ticker, ask Auri your own questions, and track what you learn — all in one calm workspace.