Stock Market 101
Learning and investing in the stock market can be both very rewarding and risky. The more one studies and learns about the stock market before investing the better prepared and more successful they are likely to be. So where should one begin their personal stock market 101 learning experience? It is best to start with either the internet or the business section of the newspaper. The stock market like any market goes up and down, prices of individual stocks rise and fall.
To best follow the market, choose a stock of a company that is familiar such as Disney or Coca Cola. Every stock has a “ticker symbol” this is the symbol you will need to enter to see the stock price. Disney is DIS and Coca Cola is KO. Follow the stock on a daily basis and you will notice that the price will rise and fall. Try and understand why the prices are rising or falling. Is there a piece of company specific news that is positive or negative? Is the stock trading higher or lower because of some general economic news. Understanding the underlying companies business is critical to learning about how to invest in the market. Learn the mechanics of the market.
Companies on the stock market have their “shares” traded. Follow the number of shares traded on a daily basis, this is called the “volume.” Try and figure out why volume may be heavy or light? Notice the trading range of a stock, or how high or low the price has been over the last 52 weeks. Study companies in similar businesses to the companies you are following. So if you like and follow Coca Cola also look at Pepsi Cola and try to understand why one company may be doing better than another. Read the market summary. It is important to understand why and individual company rises or falls, but equally important to understand why the whole market moves in one direction or another.
Very often macroeconomic trends move the market. Data such as unemployment numbers or consumer confidence numbers. To truly become a wise investor get a calendar of when all the relevant economic numbers are announced and follow those number to see if they were as expected, better than expected or worse than expected. See how the market reacts to each of these scenarios.
Follow the Stock Markets around the globe. The US stock markets are the largest in the world but almost all countries have stock markets. Of particular importance are the markets in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Markets influence one another if it is a good day on the New York exchanges, international markets will tend to respond positively. News in one part of the globe affects the rest of the globe and the same holds true for foreign and US markets there are all interconnected.
The primary rule of thumb is, don’t invest a penny unless you really understand how the market works and why a particular investment is attractive. Also always be aware of the relationship between risk and reward. The riskier the investment the greater the potential reward and the greater the potential loss. The less risky an investment the lesser the gain or loss. Finally, have fun, the stock market is never static it is always changing and moving. Good luck.
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Stock Buying Tips
Buying stocks is not rocket science, but without proper research and planning you’re doomed before you even start. Everyone wants to get the latest information about a stock or some type of investment tips. Who wouldn’t want to get the upper hand on the rest of the investors, I know I do and that’s why I research constantly on different companies that I want to invest in. I’ll try to give you some stock buying tips to make it easier for you.
One tip to help keep you in the green would be to decide if the investment you’re making will be long term or short term. When buying stocks for the long term investment, you need to think about how the economy is doing presently and in the next couple of years. Look into buying stocks that have dividends. Dividends will help increase you portfolio over the years even if the stock price hasn’t even changed. When buying stocks for the short term, you’re more or less looking for some sort of catalysis to move the price of the stock, and once that event is passed, you sell your position no matter what. Either way you need to know how to pick stocks for the type of strategy you are using.
Knowledge is power. The more you know, the more profitable you’ll be in your stock trades. There are some software out there that many use to make their picking the right stock easier. Of course there are many that aren’t any good, but you’ll have to find the right one for you. When investing in the stock market, it’s best to be well informed about the world markets and latest business trends. The internet is the best way to keep in touch with the latest news of the financial markets. In this day of age, what happens in one part of the world will effect the rest of it. The world economy is so intertwined that there’s no way one country can stand alone and not be effected.
The stock market is a place where people can become rich overnight or they can completely lose all their money. It’s not a place for people to put their money if they look at it like a gambler looks at Las Vegas or a horse track. Especially when it comes to going to other people for a “stock tip”. You have to do your own research and keep up on the company’s doings if you want to make some money. You can’t expect someone else to know what’s good for you as an investment.
This is a guest post from Thomas B, a long time reader and friend. Thomas is fairly new to the stock market and wanted to share some of his insights to other beginners.
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Buy And Sell Stocks
When the stock market crashed during the economic recession in 2008, many people suffered from huge losses and people continue to be wary of investing in stocks even now. However, being able to buy and sell stocks is important for adding diversity to your portfolio. Instead of giving up trading in stocks, people should consider various factors first. You should not limit your choice of stocks and should consider all possible stock options before deciding to buy or sell.
First, you should consider emerging market stocks. The stocks of companies from various emerging markets such as India, China and Brazil have been beating the stocks of domestic U.S. companies. The reason is that these emerging economies have an expanding consumer base and low costs of inputs such as labor. Due to this, their companies have been growing at a very high rate and speculating in the stocks of these companies can give very high returns.
Also, you should not disregard the bad sectors such as airlines sector completely as there might be some good players even in those industries which are considered bad bet for the investors. If you want stocks for long-term investment, then you should look for a company that has been generating high revenue for a long time and is doing well currently. You can make huge profits by finding good stocks in a bad sector, as the cost of trading in such stocks would be quite low.
Moreover, if you are looking for long-term investment, then you should not sell the stocks merely because of recession or other economic crisis. Recessionary cycle usually passes with time. If you keep selling your stocks during recession, then you will end up selling them at very low prices and will make a loss. It is better to wait for the economy to recover and to sell your stocks when prices are high. For those who are looking for long-term gains from their stocks, it is better to hold on to the stocks until you need the money. It is better to buy stocks of a big and established company as there are higher chances of their recovery and they also recover faster than small companies.
There is no reason to be scared of investing in stocks. It is advisable to invest a part of your money in stocks as they give high returns. It is true that there is a higher risk involved in trading in stocks, but with careful planning the risk can be minimized.
