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An Overview of the Stock Market

A stock market is a place to either buy or sell shares of stock. This occurs at a physical location or it can be done via a computer. Stock represents an equity position in a traded company.The New York Stock Exchange is one example of where stock tips or stock derivatives can be publicly traded.

The first stock market can be tracked to ancient Rome. The Roman government offered up for bid contracts for projects. Those assuming the contracts were the “publicani.” These were groups that made available to investors shares in their organizations. In 1606, the Dutch East India Company was the first organization to issue stock after the Middle Ages. Many consider it to be the first multinational corporation.

Nowadays the largest stock exchange in the world is the New York Stock Exchange with capitalization (the market value of all shares of stock) of its listed companies valued at over twenty-five trillion dollars. The NYSE was opened for business in 1792 in lower Manhattan on Wall Street. Today it is not uncommon for over two billion shares with a market value of 41,000 million dollars to be traded daily.

Huge sums of money can be either made or lost in the stock market. People owning stock in the midst of a bull market can see a sizable increase in their worth. However, they can lose an appreciable amount if their holdings are faced with a bear market.

One of the most catastrophic events in the history of the NYSE began on Black Thursday. On October 24 of 1929 the value of most stocks dropped precipitously. This led to a selling panic five days later, a date which came to be known as Black Tuesday. The market value of company shares dropped by fourteen billion dollars. The “Crash” was a prime factor in ushering in the Great Depression.

The Internet has had a substantial effect on stock markets. Today investors can execute their orders electronically, straight to the exchange’s floor. Regardless, however, of how a stock is traded, bulls and bears will always be present.

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Related posts:

  1. Mid Cap Stock The definition of a mid cap varies greatly depending upon...
  2. Frankfurt Stock Exchange – Protecting Your Long Term Investments The unpredictability of the stock markets throughout the world has...
  3. How To Make Correct Forex Trading Decisions Foreign exchange market represents more that hundred currency pairs that...
  4. Essential Information About Forex Trading Systems The Forex is a trading system for international currencies, similar...
  5. Terms and Conditions – Health Insurance Contract Overview When you are reviewing the contract of a health insurance...

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