Investing Stock Market ABC's

Home | Business

Investing Stock Market ABC's

Posted By: Jay Moncliff | Posted On: 2007-04-08 | Article ID: 513

While most folks today trust mutual funds and their professional managers with their investments, it's still important to understand the basics of the stock market. Although investing in individual stocks may not be right for everyone, a basic understanding of the stock market is essential to understanding the workings of our economy and business sector.

A stock is a portion of ownership in a company. Commonly referred to as a share, it is a small percentage of the total ownership pool for the corporation. Shareholders are stock owners, or people who have an ownership interest in the corporation. Today, shares are usually tracked electronically, but in previous decades shareholders would actually receive a certificate stating their ownership.

Why own stocks? First, you are sharing in the company's profits. When a corporation shows a profit, they will sometimes distribute these profits to each shareholder, based on how much stock they own. This distribution is called a dividend. Company's can elect to pay out their profits or reinvest them in the company, but as a shareholder, each time a payout is made you will receive your proportionate share.

Also, the value of your stock will rise and fall based on the company's perceived value in the stock market. If you buy a share at $10.00 and it rises to $11.00 a share, you've made a dollar for each share you own, and subsequently sell. However, with this opportunity comes risk as well. If the share price falls and you sell, you'll lose money. The more volatile the stock, the more opportunity for risk or profit.

Most shareholders track their stocks using the stock table. These appear confusing and difficult to read, but they are actually easy to understand with a little practice.

Ticker symbol is listed first. This is the abbreviated symbol that the stock market uses to identify your company. For example, GE is General Electric, WMT is Walmart. Once you select a company, you'll need to know it's shorthand name to track its progress.

Second, the company's name may be listed. Some tables omit the name to save space, others list it to make tracking stocks easier.

The third item is the number of sales in the last trading day. This is listed in the 100,000's, so 256 means 256,000 shares were bought and sold on the last day that the market was open.

Next are the high and low price, in that order. The high price is the highest per share price that the stock sold for on the previous trading day. The low price is the lowest price for that day. Since the price of the shares moves all day long, this is a good reference to see how much the stock is changing in a day.

Next, the closing price is listed. This is the last price that the stock traded for as the market closed. This will also be the beginning price for the next trading day.

After the closing price, the table will list the change, or the amount that the stock changed when you compare yesterday's closing price with the closing price for the day before. This will be listed as a positive number (the stock went up) or a negative number (the stock sold for less yesterday than the day before).

Stock tables are found in many places, but most people check their daily paper or the Wall Street Journal. There are many internet sites that track stocks as well.

Of course, you'll have to select a stock. Choose carefully or consult a professional, and good luck!

Article Source: http://www.articlecell.com

About The Author
Jay Moncliff
Jay Moncliff is the founder of www.investingreviews.info a website specialized on Investing, resources and articles. For more info visit his site: Investing

Please Rate this Article
Not yet Rated

Additional Articles From - Home | Business

Just check out the legal savings you make - By : Andrew Simon

Opt aaaparkitoutdoors to purchase outdoor benches of best quality - By : vikram kuamr

Get the most favorable quality of outdoor benches from aaaparkitoutdoors - By : vikram kuamr

List building Software Should Take into the Growth of Your Business - By : Balwant

List Building How to Build A Highly Receptive Email Opt-In List ? - By : Balwant

Undertake 9 Guidelines you are always looking for CookingCooking - By : IKSERVE

Niche Markets for Info Products as You Need!Need! - By : IKSERVE

Benefits of organizational development - By : Mira Williams

DTV, DVB-T, or ATSC: Is The World Really Ready For The Digital TV Changeover? - By : Rose Li

Since Buying A House Can Surely Be Emotional Being Arranged Before You Preview All Homes - By : sripen

Ken Wilson
Author ID - 2683
View - Ken's Profile
View - Ken's Articles

Lee Dobbins
Author ID - 148
View - Lee's Profile
View - Lee's Articles

Jim McDonald
Author ID - 1638
View - Jim's Profile
View - Jim's Articles

	Submit Articles
	Member Login
	Submission Guidelines
	Ezine Notifications
	Popular Articles
	Article RSS Feeds

	New Stuff
	About Us
	Link to Us
	Contact Us
	Privacy Policy
	Terms of Service

EnterArticles.com

Submit Articles

Monsterputt.com

Golf Clubs and Accessories

MarketingAU.com

Internet Marketing Help

ArticleCell.com � Copyright � 2006 - 2007
Terms of Service | Submission Guidelines | Contact Us | Link to Us | Privacy Policy | About Us

Bridgestone J33R 460CC Driver | J36 Cavity Back Irons | Bridgestone Golf