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A stock market is a place to either buy or sell shares of stock. This occurs at a physical location or it can be done via a computer. Stock represents an equity position in a traded company.The New York Stock Exchange is one example of where stock tips or stock derivatives can be publicly traded.
The first stock market can be tracked to ancient Rome. The Roman government offered up for bid contracts for projects. Those assuming the contracts were the “publicani.” These were groups that made available to investors shares in their organizations. In 1606, the Dutch East India Company was the first organization to issue stock after the Middle Ages. Many consider it to be the first multinational corporation.
The biggest stock exchange in the world is the New York Stock Exchange. The market value of all the companies listed on the exchange comes in at over $25,000,000,000,000. It began in New York on Wall Street in New York City in 1792. It has significantly grown to where it is not unusual to see more than 2,000,000,000 shares traded daily, with a value of over $41,000,000,000.
Huge sums of money can be either made or lost in the stock market. People owning stock in the midst of a bull market can see a sizable increase in their worth. However, they can lose an appreciable amount if their holdings are faced with a bear market.
Perhaps the most notable event in the history of the NYSE, and one of the causes of the Great Depression, was Black Thursday. It was the beginning of the “Crash” and occurred on October 24, 1929. The price of stocks began falling dramatically, and triggered a panic among investors. On Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, sell-offs ruled the day. Market value of listed shares fell by more than $14,000,000,000.
The Internet has had a substantial effect on stock markets. Today investors can execute their orders electronically, straight to the exchange’s floor. Regardless, however, of how a stock is traded, bulls and bears will always be present.
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