Skip to main content

Stock Market And Its Functions


Definition
It is a place where shares of pubic listed companies are traded. The primary market is where companies float shares to the general public in an initial public offering (IPO) to raise capital.
Once new securities have been sold in the primary market, they are traded in the secondary market where one investor buys shares from another investor at the prevailing market price or at whatever price both the buyer and seller agree upon. The secondary market or the stock exchanges are regulated by the regulatory authority. In India, the secondary and primary markets are governed by the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
A stock exchange facilitates stock brokers to trade company stocks and other securities. A stock may be bought or sold only if it is listed on an exchange. Thus, it is the meeting place of the stock buyers and sellers. India's premier stock exchanges are the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.



Functions Of Stock Market
1. Providing liquidity and Marketability to Existing Securities: Stock Exchange provides a ready and continuous market for buying and selling securities. It provides a platform where shares can be sold and bought by buyers and sellers.
2. Pricing of Securities: Based on the forces of demand & supply, Stock Exchange helps in putting a value on the securities which provide instant data to both buyers and sellers and thus helps in the pricing of securities.
3. Safety of Transaction: All participants associated with a stock exchange are well regulated, and are required to work within the legal framework given by the regulator. Such a system ensures the safety of transactions. In India, all trading is regulated by SEBI.
4. Contributes to Economic Growth: People get a chance to buy and sell their shares, letting them invest money. The stock exchange provides a platform by which savings get channelized into the most productive investment proposals, which leads to capital formation & economic growth.
5. Spreading of Equity Culture: Stock exchanges have extensive information on the listed companies, which is further available to the public. This data helps in educating the public about investments in securities which leads to the spreading of wider ownership of shares.
6. Providing Scope for Speculation: Securities, when purchased solely with a view of gaining profit through price movement to a target is called speculation. Stock exchanges provide scope within the provisions of law for speculating in a restricted and controlled manner.

To know more visit:- http://www.finoledge.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What is Future Trading?

1. What are Stock Futures? Stock Futures are financial contracts where the underlying asset is an individual stock. Stock Future contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specified quantity of underlying equity share for a future date at a price agreed upon between the buyer and seller. The contracts have standardized specifications like a market lot, expiry day and unit of price quotation, tick size and method of settlement. 2. How are Stock Futures priced? The theoretical price of a futures contract is the sum of the current spot price and the cost of carrying. However, the actual price of futures contract very much depends upon the demand and supply of the underlying stock. Generally, the futures prices are higher than the spot prices of the underlying stocks. Futures Price = Spot Price + Cost of carrying The cost of carrying is the interest cost of a similar position in the cash market and carried to the maturity of the futures contract less any dividend expected ...

Bullish vs Bearish Markets – What’s the Difference?

What is a Bull Market? A bull market is a financial market (whether it’s currencies, metals or commodities) where prices are rising or are expected to rise. General optimism, investor confidence, and expectations of continuous strong uptrends characterize a bull market. These uptrends usually last for weeks, months, or even years, but can be as short as a few days, depending on the surrounding circumstances. Predicting changing trends is sometimes difficult as trader psychology and speculator behavior can play a role. Markets become bullish generally when the economy is doing well or coming out of a previous slump. For instance, individual currencies may rise in line with a strong GDP output, or drop when unemployment figures or interest rates aren’t favorable. Supply and demand forces still govern in a bull market, so weak supply but strong demand (as in the case of commodities such as oil or natural gas) will see prices rise as more investors want to purchase the asset than ar...

Benefits Of Investing In Stock Market

Diversification: Purchasing stocks of companies operating in different sectors as well as segments are possible, which helps in optimizing the asset-allocation and provides diversification. Protection against inflation: Over the years, ordinary shares are said to have won the battle against inflation rate providing enough returns and growth. Great Post Tax Earnings: Tax is another factor eating up gains, investing in ordinary shares help you maintain the rate of returns on investments. Ease of Access: Updates and innovations in technology especially in the area of Fintech is the reason, one gets the ease of access to stock markets with considerable reliability. Input a few information asked from you by the exchange and brokerage houses or mutual fund houses, and you are ready to partner India’s growth story within a few seconds. Invest in smaller amounts: With mutual fund industries picking up in the last decade, now investment is possible inequit...