What is the stock market? A stock market is a market that is available to the public for the purchase and sale of stocks from any publicly listed company. To trade in the stock market, you need a broker to purchase any listed companies such as Microsoft, Intel, BMW and so on and so forth.
These stocks are listed in specific indices as a means of grouping and measuring performance over time. For example, you won't find Telekom Malaysia shares on the Morgan Stanley Biotech Index as that index is a collection of public listed biotech firms in the United States. You will however find Telekom Malaysia listed on Malaysia's national index, the KLSE. More specifically, Telekom Malaysia is listed on the main board.
The online stock market is akin to the forex trading and forex futures market as this is where stock trading takes place 5 days a week, 12 months a year.
The stock market is regulated based on the location of the company and the index the company stock is listed in. For example, stocks that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange are regulated by the SEC. In turn, the stock market in Australia is regulated by the Australian Securities Exchange. The primarily roles of these regulators are protecting investors, maintaining an efficient and fair stock market while facilitating capital formation. Online sstock market trading is proving a popular alternative to buying through a traditional stock broker.
