What is the Stock Market?
The stock market refers to public markets that exist for issuing, buying, and selling stocks that trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter. Stocks , also known as equities, represent fractional ownership in a company, and the stock market is a place where investors can buy and sell ownership of such investable assets . An efficiently functioning stock market is considered critical to economic development, as it gives companies the ability to quickly access capital from the public. Purposes of the Stock Market – Capital and Investment Income The stock market serves two very important purposes. The first is to provide capital to companies that they can use to fund and expand their businesses. If a company issues one million shares of stock that initially sell for $10 a share, then that provides the company with $10 million of capital that it can use to grow its business (minus whatever fees the company pays for an investment bank to manage the stock offering). By offer