[HELP] stockmarket for an idiot

[tris-]

can someone explain in the simplest terms

1. the function of the stockmarket
2. what it means when its % changes
3. how it effects an individual

not that im concerned i just do not understand what the news is trying to tell me. they dont explain it well which is probably leading to hysteria in the average person.

[fettoken]

Originally Posted by tris-

can someone explain in the simplest terms

1. the function of the stockmarket
2. what it means when its % changes
3. how it effects an individual

not that im concerned i just do not understand what the news is trying to tell me. they dont explain it well which is probably leading to hysteria in the average person.

A stockmarket is a market where people can buy shares/stocks from different kind Corporations/companies that are listed. Can't be arsed to explain further, its a damn web.

If you take all the stocks there is on a certain stock market (NASDAQ for example) and calculate the general percentage gain or drop, this percentage fluctuates over the course of a day.

How it affects the individual, well. Stock goes down due to people panicing and selling their shares. More people selling makes the stock drop even more creating and endless spiral of doom as we see now on todays stockmarkets. Also when the markets drop it reflects on how well (or not well..) that company does. Thus leading to them kicking people due to less demand... because how volatile everything is today. That is how it affects the avarage person.
Obviously getting canned from work or losing money on stocks (if they have any).

This is my own reflections tho, since i trade with stocks when i find the time to.

[Chronictank]

the stock market is bascially a collection of companies who have sold a portion of their business to the general public/businesses usually to raise funds (hence the term the business has gone public)
If you buy stock you basically have bought a % of the business, the only way off the stock market is to either declare bankrupcy and go into liquidation or buy back all the stock you sold (ofc the people who bought it dont have to sell) or if they want control of the company buy back until they have 51% of the shares

At the simplest level the value of the share represents a % of the total value of the company, but this value can change according to market conditions

[tris-]

i understand the concept of a share.

so take the ftse100 for example, it dropped 10% or something.
does that mean on average the value of all the companies dropped by 10%?

[fettoken]

Originally Posted by tris-

i understand the concept of a share.

so take the ftse100 for example, it dropped 10% or something.
does that mean on average the value of all the companies dropped by 10%?

Ftse100 is the top 100 stocks while FTSE is the whole stockmarket. And yes, it means the avarage value of all the stocks (or the top 100 in FTSE100).

[tris-]

whyh does their value drop?

[Lamp]

Originally Posted by tris-

whyh does their value drop?

Banks have been liquidating their equity balance sheets. Since 15 September, the FTSE has fallen 24%.

In simple English, billions of shares are being sold because market players do not have any confidence that companies will be able to avoid payment defaults. So in order to mitigate their equity risk they sell shares. When this is done across global markets - as it will because the global markets are linked - like ripples in a pond - we have a global equity devaulation.

[Olgaline]

Warning!

Someone has trollnapped Lamp and is posting usefull and on topic information in his name!

[sayward]

It's all Greek to me, but it fell into place when I finally got around to watching 'Rogue Trader' in the hols. With Ewan MacGregor as Neeson.

[Ezteq]

sssh!! ffs boy don't say that out loud! *looks around* B2 keeps trying to explain this to me and so far i'vemanaged to avoid it by looking as if i know what he's on about and nodding and going uh huh uh huh ah right in convenient places, but tbh i don't have a frigging clue about any of it and i don't wanna know!

i heard somewhere that ignorance is bliss and i'm just trying to make myself happy, damn folk coming round trying to educate me and ruin my happiness