What the Stock Market Is

The stock market is a place where shares of publicly traded companies are bought and sold. It brings together investors who want to buy ownership in a business and sellers who want to exit or rebalance their positions.

In this lesson, you will learn what the stock market is, how it is organized, why share prices change, and why a stock’s market price is not the same thing as the underlying value of the business.

You will also get a practical sense of who participates in the market, how orders are matched, and what beginners should understand before placing their first trade.