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The term Stock Market Trading encompasses both the physical location for buying and selling (trading) stocks as well as the overall activity of the market within a certain country.
Stock Exchange is the term for the physical location where the actual activity of stock trading / share trading or investing in stocks takes place. Most countries have many different stock exchanges and usually a particular company's stocks are traded on only one exchange, although large corporations may be listed in several different locations.
Stock exchanges exist throughout the world. It is possible to buy or sell stocks on any of them by having trading accounts with the various stock trading programs. You can also get stock trading information from these exchanges. The only restriction is the opening hours of each exchange.
The major stock exchanges of the world are located in Tokyo Stock Exchange (Japan), Bombay Stock Exchange( India), London Stock Exchange, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, SWX Swiss Exchange (Europe), Shanghai Stock Exchange(the People's Republic of China ) and the United States. The major exchanges in the US are the NYSE, Nasdaq, and Amex.
By providing a centralized, ready market for the exchange of securities, stock exchanges greatly facilitate the financing of business through flotation of stocks and bonds. However, speculative stock market trading can sometimes accentuate the instability of an economy. The reality of the Great Depression was emphasized by the stock market crash in 1929. The interstate sale of securities and certain stock exchange practices in the United States are regulated by federal laws administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Stock market trading closely follows the economy of a country. When the economy is doing well, the market is bullish. Bull markets occur during times of high economic production, low unemployment and low inflation. Bear markets, on the other hand, follow downtrends in the economy. When inflation and unemployment see an upturn, stock prices start falling. Hence, to keep investments safe, savvy investors track various economic indices, stock trading information, and stock market trends.
Fluctuations in stock prices are also driven by supply and demand, which in turn are determined to a large extent on investor psychology. Seeing a stock rise in price may cause investors to jump on the bandwagon and this rush to buy drives the price even faster. A falling price can have the same effect. These are short term fluctuations. Stock prices tend to normalize after such runs. Hence, to predict possible upturns or downturns in the stock markets, it becomes imperative to track and analyze stock market trading information.
The stock exchange is only one of many opportunities to invest. Other popular markets include the Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX), the Futures Market, and the Options Market.
For more information on stock market trading, please access the following links: Stock Market Basics, Stock Trading Strategies, Stock Trading Systems, Stock Market Indexes, Stock Market Prices, Stock Splits, Penny Stocks, Stock Options, Stocks versus Bonds, Stocks versus Mutual Funds, Stock Trading Software and Day Trading Stock.
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