What is the stock market?

The stock market is a centralised platform on which companies list their available stock. This stock is traded between buyers and sellers using the stock exchange. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the NASDAQ, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange are stock exchanges that form part of their region’s respective stock markets. Investments such as exchange traded funds (ETFs) are also listed and traded in these markets.

Traditionally, a stock market was a physical space where buyers and sellers auctioned and bought stocks in person; you may have seen clips of the raucous scenes from the floor of the NYSE where this still happens. Nowadays, the majority of stock exchanges are digital marketplaces.