Stock market quote

Stock Market is a place where financial instruments like shares, options, and futures are bought and sold.  Dealing in shares normally takes place through brokers.  Stock Market quote is the rate which buyers communicate to their brokers while placing their orders. Brokers in turn place the quote with the stock exchange.  Similarly prospective sellers also communicate stock market quote to their brokers who in turn place these quotes with the stock exchange. 

In olden days the seller of the shares used to cry out the share market quote from the bin and buyers used to bid for the same.  The shares used to be sold to the person who placed the highest stock market quote. With the advent of computerization, method of trading changed completely.  Now-a-days brokers key in their stock market quote in their trading terminals.  The stock market quotes are then communicated to the server of the stock exchange through a high-speed data cable.  In the server, the best stock market quotes are matched.  Best stock market quote conveys different meaning to buyers and sellers.  As far as the seller is concerned, best stock market quote is the highest quote of the buyer.  As for the buyer, the best stock market quote is the lowest quote of the seller.  In the computer system best stock market quote of the buyer is displayed against the best stock market quote of the seller. Then either the seller reduces his quote or the buyer increases his quote so as to match. Once the stock market quote of the buyer matches that of the seller, the computer records a sale and transaction confirmation number is generated. From the transaction confirmation number the buyers and sellers can independently ascertain the stock market quote at which the transaction has taken place from the stock exchange.

In addition to brokers, jobbers also deal in the stock exchange. Jobbers normally deal only in a very limited number of shares.  They give two ways share market quotes.  The lower share market quote is the rate at which they buy the share and the higher share market quote is the rate at which they sell the shares.  The difference between the higher share market quote and the lower share market quote is jobber's spread.  Thus jobbers carry out the essential function of imparting liquidity in less liquid stocks. However with computerization the role of jobbers and brokers are nearly overlapping. Many brokers have of late started functioning as jobbers and vice versa. However in some old stock exchanges, there is still a distinction between jobbers and brokers.

Share market quotes are widely reported in the media.  Most of the newspapers dedicate a full page to publish share market quotes.  The previous day's close, opening rate, day's high, day's low and closing rate are some of the important stock market quotes published by newspapers and web sites.  Analysts and investors record the stock market quotes regularly and study them to formulate a strategy.  If successive closing share market quotes indicate an increasing trend a bull run is in offing. This encourages technical analysts to initiate buy calls in the markets.  Buy call pushes up the demand for shares further and a bull phase sets in.  At the end of the bull phase share market quote shows a flat trend. Continuous flat trend triggers a sell call that sets in motions the process of correction in share market.  During this phase investors place emergency sell call at very low stock market quote.  This results in market heading for a bear hug.  Bull run and Bear hug are cyclical phase of a healthy share market.

If you found this page useful please consider linking to it from your website or blog.