Stock Market Recommendations - Stock investment resources

Learn about the stock market

Stock markets closely follow the economic health of a country. When the economy is doing well the market is bullish.  Bull markets occur during times of high economic production, low unemployment and low inflation. Bear markets, on the other hand, follow downtrends in the economy. Inflation and unemployment are rising and stock prices are falling.

Fluctuations in stock prices are also driven by supply and demand, which in turn are determined to a large extent on investor psychology. Seeing a stock rise in price may cause investors to jump on the bandwagon and this rush to buy drives the price even faster. A falling price can have the same effect. These are short term fluctuations. Stock prices tend to normalize after such runs.

The stock exchange is only one of many opportunities to invest. Other popular markets include the Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX), the Futures Market, and the Options Market.

The FOREX is the biggest (in terms of value of trades) investment market in the world. FOREX traders buy one currency against another and can profit from small changes in value. Most FOREX trades are entered and exited in one 24 hour span, and traders have to keep a close watch on the market in order to make profitable trades.

The Futures Market is a market of contracts to buy and sell goods at specified prices and times. It exists because buyers and sellers of goods wish to lock in prices for future delivery, but market conditions can make the actual futures contract fluctuate considerably in value. Most investors in the futures market are not interested in the actual goods - only in the profit that can be realized in trading the contracts.

The Options Market is similar to the Futures Market in that an option is a contract that gives you the right (but not the obligation) to trade a stock at a certain price before a specified date. They can be traded on their own or purchased as a form of insurance against price fluctuations within a certain time frame.

All three of these markets are quite risky and require considerable knowledge and experience to prevent substantial losses. They also require close attention to market movements. Stocks, on the other hand, are less risky because movements of the market are usually gradual. Although short term investment strategies are possible, most view stocks as long term investments.