Stock Market

Stock market

Also called the equity market, the market for trading equities.

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Stock Exchange

A place, whether physical or electronic, where stocks, bonds, and/or derivatives in listed companies are bought and sold. A stock exchange may be a private company, a non-profit, or a publicly-traded company (some exchanges have shares that trade on their own floors). A stock exchange provides a regulated place where brokers and companies may meet in order to make investments on neutral ground. The concept traces its roots back to medieval France and the Low Countries, where agricultural goods were traded for cash or debt. Most countries have a main exchange and many also have smaller, regional exchanges. A stock exchange is also called a bourse or simply an exchange.

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Stock market. A stock market may be a physical place, sometimes known as a stock exchange, where brokers gather to buy and sell stocks and other securities.

The term is also used more broadly to include electronic trading that takes place over computer and telephone lines. In fact, in many markets around the world, all stock trading is handled electronically.

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Stock Market

What Does Stock Market Mean?

The term for the overall market in which shares are issued and traded on exchanges or in over-the-counter markets. Also known as the equity market, it is one of the most vital areas of a market economy because it provides companies with access to capital and allows investors to own companies and participate in economic growth.

Investopedia explains Stock Market

The stock market is made up of the primary and secondary markets. The primary market is where new issues (IPOs) first are offered, with any subsequent trading going on in the secondary market.

Related Terms:
• Capital
• Dow Jones Industrial Average—DJIA
• Nasdaq
• New York Stock Exchange—NYSE
• Over the Counter—OTC