Stock Market

The term stock market refers to the entire market for company stocks in a region, country or even globally.

The stock market is made up of supply (all shares made available to the public) and demand (investors who want to invest in enterprises).

Often, this term is used more broadly to denote the market for all securities including derivatives, bonds and commodities in addition to shares in companies and investment funds.

The stock market is not to be confused with a stock exchange. While a stock exchange is a single, physical or electronic platform on which stocks are traded, the stock market is the entire market for shares.

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