The term stock market is used several different but related ways. Sometimes it refers to a physical market — also known as an
exchange,
where the actual business of buying and selling securities takes place. In other cases, a stock market may not be a physical place at all, but an electronic network that enables the rapid execution of trades originating all over the world.
But the term is used in other ways as well. For instance, when you watch the news you may hear that the stock market went up or down. In that case, the reporter is probably describing the changing value of the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)
or the
Standard & Poor's 500-stock Index (S&P 500),
two widely followed
indexes
that are used to gauge U.S. stock market performance. And sometimes, when people talk about the stock market, they’re talking about the securities markets in a general sense, including not only the buying and selling of
stocks
but also of
bonds,
options,
and
convertible securities.
The stock market in this larger sense is a major part of the capital market system, which fuels the U.S. economy and economies around the world, enabling businesses to grow, governments to provide services, and individuals to build wealth. Learn about the financial markets — from the specific mechanics of a stock trade to the far-reaching and dynamic forces of the capital markets.
Ups and downs, bulls and bears, corrections, bubbles, and crashes. Learn what causes the markets to rise and fall and how you can brace your portfolio for the bumps along the way.
