stock market 101 HELP!!

[fightmike]

HEY GUYS!

Great site you have here, I think It's awesome you help us newbies with our questions I have tore the crap out of the search button. Im training in trading here, theres ALOT i dont know, but i do have some the basics and lingo down "i think."

anything i ask here was searched for, if i overlooked it i apolagise

1. What makes a stock's price go up and down, I understand this is a loaded question. but can i get some of the basics? I think meeting quarterly earnings plays a role, good news released for the company, basicly, What my understanding is that a company's stock price is a form of supply and demand mixed with a popularity contest. am i on the right track??

2. VOLUME this is a measure of how many shares change hands in the day correct?? how does this play into the price of the stock??


Thanks for the help guys!!

[Luc1Grunt]

deleted

[fightmike]

well that sucks, anybody know of a different forum i could search/ask questions in, thanks for the help guys.

[Luc1Grunt]

Well, your question would take volumes...........so I'll start

Volume is "perceived value". Earnings don't matter (sometimes), news don't matter (sometimes), fundamentals don't matter (sometimes). What matters is the amount someone THINKS it is worth, period. This includes individuals, institutions, firms, foreign countries etc.

Volume can show the magnitude of a selloff, or the magnitude of a massive "buy". It can also show normal interest. It can show declining/rising interest along with indicators and chart patterns.

Check the thread on "Trader Education Links". It contains links to basic and advanced sites that will answer your questions. You really need to start there. Getting the answer to your above question on a forum will not serve you the justice books and articles will.

Are you looking to invest or trade?

Happy trading. :cool:

[Hanger]

I will add to the Volume part:

Think of it like this...a company has 2,000,000,000 float shares(available for trade day to day)

The volume for a day is 200,000. Is that going to move the stock price? Probably not, and why....

Because you are trading less than 1% of available shares.

However if that same stock trades 850,000,000 shares in one day, now you can probably see some price movement. Granted it may end up where it started, you will probably see a bigger fluctuation throughout the day. While this is not always the case-just a quick little thing on volume.

[fightmike]

Im looking to trade, im going to check out the site now, thanks for the help, i knew you guys would pull through fer me.

quick question though, what im getting in this the only thing that determins a stock value is the price people are willing to pay for it, or the demand for that stock.

what volume % is standard for being noticed, meaning what percent is a decent enough percent of the outstanding shares to usually move the stock?

thanks again!

[Katibel]

Investopedia.com

many great, easy to read tutorials....and a simulator to play with and test your skills.

Another thing that I do is read each of these posts.When I come across a term or discussion that I don't understand, I go research AND I do feel free to ask questions. Everyone here has been so much more than kind to me. I know you will enjoy your stay here.

Cheers,
Kati

[Psampson]

You want some good start up advice then hit the books.
If you are seriously into this then buy Toni Turner's Guide to Swing Trading (title may be a few words off i don't have it in front of me). She explains everything from the explanation of the stock exchanges to volume and chart reading and everything in between. It is a book for beginners and taught me a lot about the stock market and how to begin trading stocks. Theres excellent explanations of candlestick charts which u use to determine (or try at least) when the stocks trend will change direction. If you read this book (or some other ones) word for word you will learn tons about trading and its easy to understand so you don't have to know anything to begin with. Good luck and remember to take it slow so u dont lose all of your money right away and become discouraged. Another tip: Dont buy a stock just because someone said to. Do your own research and follow advice from others but dont just jump in when they say.