1. Buying Stock Reading Stock Tables

2. Stock Indexes  Standard & Poor's 500 Index  Contains the stocks of 500 U.S. corporations,  All of the stocks in the index are those of large publicly held companies that trade on major US stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.  S&P 500 is the most widely watched index of large- cap US stocks and is considered to be a bellwether for the US economy.

3. Another Stock Index  DOW  Dow Jones Industrial Average  Dow compiled the index as a way to gauge the performance of the industrial component of America's stock markets. It is the oldest continuing U.S. market index.  30 of the largest and most widely held public companies in the United States  Many of the 30 modern components have little to do with heavy industry today

4. Stock Exchanges Stock Exchanges  Nasdaq  Originally an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations system)  Electronic stock exchange  Buy and sell stock  New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)  It is the largest stock exchange in the world by dollar volume and the second largest by number of companies listed.  Buy and sell stock

5. How Stock Works  A company wants to raise money to invest in something they think will be profitable, such as a new manufacturing process, more production capacity, or a new product.  A company wants to raise money to invest in something they think will be profitable, such as a new manufacturing process, more production capacity, or a new product.  The company decides to borrow the money or sell part of the company.  The company decides to borrow the money or sell part of the company.  Borrowing the money is usually done by issuing a "bond" which is a promise to repay the borrowed money with interest.  The way to sell part of the company is to sell "stock" in the company.  The way to sell part of the company is to sell "stock" in the company.  Stocks are called "equity" because the owner of the stock has equity, or part ownership, of the company.

6. The Process  Stock market is basically an auction  Just like eBay  Stocks move on speculation  Company uses your money to run or operate the company  When you sell stock you get your money back plus interest (hopefully)  The money you get actually comes from another individual who wants to purchase the stock you are trying to sell

7. Determining Value  It's just like trading baseball cards. When stock is traded on the open market, the only reason it is worth so much is because there is someone out there willing to pay that much for it. No magic, no mystery.

8. Checking Stocks Online  New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange  Symbol Look up  Type in the name of your company  Record the symbol  Check the price