Basics of stock_market

1. Stock Market

1.1 Stock

Plain and simple, a “stock” is a share in the ownership of a company. A

stock represents a claim on the company's assets and earnings. As you acquire

more stocks, your ownership stake in the company becomes greater.

(Note: Some times different words like shares, equity, stocks etc. are used.

All these words mean the same thing.)

1.2 Share Market

A Share market or Stock market, is a private or public market for the

trading of company stock and derivatives of company stock at an agreed price;

these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded

privately.

The stocks are listed and traded on stock exchanges which are entities a

corporation or mutual organization specialized in the business of bringing buyers

and sellers of the organizations to a listing of stocks and securities together.

Stock market is known as the cradle of capitalism. It is a place where

companies come to raise their share capital and investors go to invest their

surplus funds. Stock market essentially discharges the functions of "the invisible

hand" that channels investment into the most productive ventures so as to

optimize the overall productivity of the economy.

Stock Market is a place where financial instruments like shares,

debentures, commercial papers, bonds etc are bought and sold.  Stock markets are

popularly known as stock exchanges.  There are many popular stock markets in

the world. NASDQ, Tokyo Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange are the

most popular of the lot.  There are many participants in a stock market.  Investors,

Speculators, Arbitrators, Traders are different type of participants of a Stock

Market.  Brokers are intermediaries who bring together various participants

in a Stock Market.

Most important function of the stock market is to facilitate trading of

financial instruments.  Brokers submit a quote at the stock market on behalf of

their clients.  Quotes are specific to the scrip.  The quote of the buyer is matched

to the quote of the seller and the transaction takes place.  All transactions entered

in a stock market are guaranteed by the Stock Exchange.  That means if the buyer

or seller fails to meet his obligation, the stock exchange steps in and meets the

commitment of the participant. This instills a lot of confidence and credibility

about the sanctity of the transaction amongst the investing public. That is the

reason why a stock exchange is preferred by investing public to a gray market in

shares even though the latter has much lower transaction cost.

All the participants in the stock market have the same objective i.e. to

make a profit. Investors invest in the stock market with the hope that market

value of their investment will go up and they will be able to make higher returns

than in bank deposits.  Arbitrages buy in one market and sell in another market

with an objective of making a profit. For example if the shares of Caltex are

quoting at a lesser price at Amsterdam Stock Exchange in comparison to London

Stock Exchange, arbitrages will buy at Amsterdam and sell at London.  This will

result in a rise in share price at Amsterdam and fall in share price at London, thus

bringing in price equilibrium among various stock markets in the world.

Speculators operate in the stock market with an objective to make quick

money by guessing the direction of the stock market.  If they expect the market to

rise, they buy shares with a very small investment horizon. Similarly if they

expect a correction in stock market, they sell shares, thus imparting an essential

element of liquidity in the market. Those who expect a rise in the stock market

and buy relentlessly are known as bulls.  Bulls keep the buying pressure and

attempt to take the stock market to dizzy heights.  Bull market is a market

scenario where bulls have complete control over the stock markets.  When bull

market reaches its peak, investors will make huge profit. Many investors start

booking their profit by selling the investments.  Slowly the bulls find that there

are more shares than they could perhaps buy in the stock market.  When supply of

shares exceeds the demand in the stock market prices start coming down.  This is

called correction.  Correction is a normal phenomenon in any bull market.  Some

times if the sellers are huge in numbers, a negative sentiment takes over the stock

market.  Every one attempts to sell their investments with an objective to salvage

profit or reduce losses.  When this phase set in, bulls loose control.  Sellers will

control stock market.  This phase is popularly known are bear run.  Bull and Bear

runs follow a cyclical pattern in a stock market.

Normally in a booming economy, companies make huge profits, so

markets tend to be bullish.  When the trend of the economy reverses Stock

Market experience a bear hug. Thus the Stock markets reflect the health if the

economy and are often called as "barometers" of the economy

1.3 Shares in the Share Market are either traded through :-

(a) Stock Exchange

(b) Over-the -Counter (OTC)

(a) Stock Exchange

These are organized market places where stocks, bonds are other

equivalents are traded between the buyers and sellers where exchange acts as a

counter-party to both the participants in case of any default. The contracts are

standardized and not customized ones. For example, NYSE, NASDAQ, NSE,

NIKKEI, etc.

(b) Over-the -Counter (OTC)

These are not centralized exchanges. Here, the trade takes place through a

network of dealers. Generally, the OTC contracts are bilateral customized

contracts and not standardized ones.

Important Participants of Share Market Trading are :-

Buyer An investor who buys a script in the belief that the market will rise. If his

hinge becomes right then he makes profit otherwise he suffers loss.

Seller Seller of a stock sells in the hope that the stock price will go down.

Stock Broker Brokers are persons or firms who execute buy/sell order on

behalf of the investors and charge a commission for rendering the service.

1.4 Share Trading are done in three ways:-

(a) Offline Share Trading

(b) Online Share Trading

(c) Open Outcry Trading

(a) Offline Share Trading

In this form of trading the customer either goes to the share broker's place

and sits before the share trading terminal and asks the dealer to place orders in his

account. or rings the share broker, asks the share quotes and other relevant

informations, and accordingly places orders over the phone.

(b) Online Share Trading

The client could avail the share market and could place his order on his

own from any place he wants, provided he has a computer with an Internet

connection.

(c) Open Outcry Trading

Here, the investors put their orders through the brokers and these share

brokers in turn place and execute orders on behalf of them on the floor of the

exchange. These brokers gather in a particular place on the trading floor known

as Trading Post. There is a person called as the Specialist present in the trading

post who does the matching of the buy and sell orders. This type of auction

method is called Open Outcry Method.

2. Online Share Trading

Online Share Trading is becoming the order of the day in share trading.

Now-a-days one could hardly see a person going to the stock exchange floor and

placing his order. Electronic media has played an important role in flourishing the

share market. In case of online share trading an investor could place his order

from his own house if he has internet connection.

There are two types of trading that can be done through online share trading

1. Intra-day Trading

2. Delivery Trading

2.1 Intra-day Trading

They enter and exit out of the market like the thief in the night. Traders

continuously have a watch on the market during the trading hours and the

moment they see any opportunity arising they pounce on it for scalping the profit

out. These type of trading generally are risky in nature. They buy and sell stocks

during the same day.

Intra day Traders are of two types :-

a. Scalp Traders

b. Momentum Traders

a. Scalp Traders

Investors who perform many trades per day for scalping out small profits out of

the bid-ask spread from each trade are known as scalp traders.

b. Momentum Traders

Investors who pounce on those stocks which move significantly in one

direction and book desired profit are called momentum traders. They do this

within a day.

2.2 Delivery trading

The investor buys the share for holding purposes. The brokerage charges

are a bit more than the intraday ones. Delivery Traders are :

a. Technical Traders

b. Fundamental Traders

c. Swing Traders

a. Technical Traders

They believe that buying/selling signals are present within the graphs and

charts of the stock.

b. Fundamental Traders

They perform trade on the basis of study of fact-sheets of the company like

historical profit graph, balance sheet, anticipated earning reports, stock splits,

mergers and acquisitions, etc.

c. Swing Traders

They are basically fundamental traders who take delivery of trades for a

span of short period generally more than one day.

In this electronic form of trading, the shares are not in the physical form for

their inconvenience to handle. So, they are now converted to dematerialized

form . So, one investor does not have to worry about the safety of the physical

shares because the bought shares get transferred to the respective D-mat account .

Thus, online share trading has helped the investors a lot as it is hassle-free and

time efficient.

For the intraday traders the brokerage costing is minuscule in comparison

to the delivery trades.

3. Securities and Exchange Board of India

3.1 Introduction

SEBI is the Regulator for the Securities Market in India. Originally set up

by the Government of India in 1988, it acquired statutory form in 1992 with SEBI

Act 1992 being passed by the Indian Parliament.Chaired by C B Bhave, SEBI is

headquartered in the popular business district of Bandra-Kurla complex in

Mumbai, and has Northern, Eastern and Southern regional offices in New Delhi,

Kolkata and Chennai. It is in the news that a new Western Regional Office has

been proposed at Ahmedabad.

3.2 Function of SEBISEBI has to be responsive to the needs of three groups, which constitute the

market: The issuers of securities The investors The market intermediaries.

SEBI has three functions rolled into one body quasi-legislative, quasi-

judicial and quasi-executive. It drafts regulations in its legislative capacity, it

conducts investigation and enforcement action in its executive function and it

passes rulings and orders in its judicial capacity. Though this makes it very

powerful, there is an appeals process to create accountability. There is a

Securities Appellate Tribunal which is a three member tribunal and is presently

headed by a former Chief Justice of a High court - Mr. Justice NK Sodhi. A

second appeal lies directly to the Supreme Court.

SEBI has enjoyed success as a regulator by pushing systemic reforms

aggressively and successively (e.g. the quick movement towards making the

markets electronic and paperless rolling settlement on T+2 basis). SEBI has been

active in seting up the regulations as required under law.

4. Bombay Stock Exchange

The Bombay Stock Exchange is the oldest Stock Exchange in Asia located

in Dalal Street , Mumbai in India.

4.1 Evolution of the Bombay Stock Exchange and its Size

The Bombay Stock Exchange was established in 1875 as the “ Native

Share and Stock Brokers Association ” in 1875. It earned a formal status under

the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI) in 1956. Market

Capitalization of the BSE was about Rs 33.4 trillion as on 2006 , October. The

Bombay Stock Exchange uses the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex as the market

index in Asia and India.

The Bombay Stock Exchange deals with trading in derivatives, equity and

other debt instruments. The Bombay Stock Exchange Limited has the greatest

number of listed companies in the world, with 4700 listed as of August 2007. It is

located at Dalal Street, Mumbai, India. On 31 December 2007, the equity market

capitalization of the companies listed on the BSE was US$ 1.79 trillion, making it

the largest stock exchange in South Asia and the tenth largest in the world.

The Bombay Stock Exchange was established in 1875. Around 6,000

Indian companies list on the stock exchange, and it has a significant trading

volume. The BSE SENSEX (SENSitive indEX), also called the "BSE 30", is a

widely used market index in India and Asia. Though many other exchanges exist,

BSE and the National Stock Exchange of India account for most of the trading in

shares in India.

4.2 Bombay Stock Exchange history

Following is the timeline on the rise and rise of the Sensex through Indian

stock market history.

1978-79

Base year of Sensex, defined to be 100.

1986

Sensex first compiled using a market Capitalization-Weighted

methodology for 30 component stocks representing well-established companies

across key sectors.

Since 1990

1900s

July 25, 1990.

The Sensex touched the magical four-digit figure for the first time and

closed at 1,001 in the wake of a good monsoon season and excellent corporate

results.

July 1991 Rupee devalued by 18-19 %

January 15, 1992

The Sensex crossed the 2,000-mark and closed at 2,020 followed by the

liberal economic policy initiatives undertaken by the then finance minister and

current Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

February 29, 1992

The Sensex surged past the 3000 mark in the wake of the market-friendly

Budget announced by the then Finance Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.

March 30, 1992

The Sensex crossed the 4,000-mark and closed at 4,091 on the expectations

of a liberal export-import policy. It was then that the Harshad Mehta scam hit the

markets and Sensex witnessed unabated selling.

October 8, 1999

The Sensex crossed the 5,000-mark as the BJP-led coalition won the

majority in the 13th Lok Sabha election.

2000s

February 11, 2000

The infotech boom helped the Sensex to cross the 6,000-mark and hit and

all time high of 6,006.

June 20, 2005

The news of the settlement between the Ambani brothers boosted investor

sentiments and the scrips of RIL, Reliance Energy, Reliance Capital, and IPCL

made huge gains. This helped the Sensex crossed 7,000 points for the first time.

September 8, 2005

The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share index -- the Sensex --

crossed the 8000 level following brisk buying by foreign and domestic funds in

early trading.

November 28, 2005

The Sensex on November 28, 2005 crossed the magical figure of 9000 to

touch 9000.32 points during mid-session at the Bombay Stock Exchange on the

back of frantic buying spree by foreign institutional investors and well supported

by local operators as well as retail investors.

February 6, 2006

The Sensex on February 6, 2006 touched 10,003 points during mid-session.

The Sensex finally closed above the 10K-mark on February 7, 2006.

March 21, 2006

The Sensex on March 21, 2006 crossed the magical figure of 11,000 and touched

a life-time peak of 11,001 points during mid-session at the Bombay Stock

Exchange for the first time. However, it was on March 27, 2006 that the Sensex

first closed at over 11,000 points.

April 20, 2006

The Sensex on April 20, 2006 crossed the 12,000-mark and closed at a

peak of 12,040 points for the first time.

October 30, 2006

The Sensex on October 30, 2006 crossed the magical figure of 13,000 and

closed at 13,024.26 points, up 117.45 points or 0.9%. It took 135 days for the

Sensex to move from 12,000 to 13,000 and 123 days to move from 12,500 to

13,000.

December 5, 2006

The Sensex on December 5, 2006 crossed the 14,000-mark to touch 14,028

points. It took 36 days for the Sensex to move from 13,000 to the 14,000 mark.

July 6, 2007

The Sensex on July 6, 2007 crossed the magical figure of 15,000 to touch

15,005 points in afternoon trade. It took seven months for the Sensex to move

from 14,000 to 15,000 points.

September 19, 2007

The Sensex scaled yet another milestone during early morning trade on

September 19, 2007. Within minutes after trading began, the Sensex crossed

16,000, rising by 450 points from the previous close. The 30-share Bombay Stock

Exchange's sensitive index took 53 days to reach 16,000 from 15,000. Nifty also

touched a new high at 4659, up 113 points.

The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 654 points at 16,323. The NSE Nifty

gained 186 points to close at 4,732.

September 26, 2007

The Sensex scaled yet another height during early morning trade on

September 26, 2007. Within minutes after trading began, the Sensex crossed the

17,000-mark . Some profit taking towards the end, saw the index slip into red to

16,887 - down 187 points from the day's high. The Sensex ended with a gain of

22 points at 16,921.

October 09, 2007

The BSE Sensex crossed the 18,000-mark on October 09, 2007. It took just

8 days to cross 18,000 points from the 17,000 mark. The index zoomed to a new

all-time intra-day high of 18,327. It finally gained 789 points to close at an all-

time high of 18,280. The market set several new records including the biggest

single day gain of 789 points at close, as well as the largest intra-day gains of 993

points in absolute term backed by frenzied buying after the news of the UPA and

Left meeting on October 22 put an end to the worries of an impending election.

October 15, 2007

The Sensex crossed the 19,000-mark backed by revival of funds-based

buying in blue chip stocks in metal, capital goods and refinery sectors. The index

gained the last 1,000 points in just four trading days. The index touched a fresh

all-time intra-day high of 19,096, and finally ended with a smart gain of 640

points at 19,059.The Nifty gained 242 points to close at 5,670.

October 29, 2007

The Sensex crossed the 20,000 mark on the back of aggressive buying by

funds ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting. The index took only 10 trading

days to gain 1,000 points after the index crossed the 19,000-mark on October 15.

The major drivers of today's rally were index heavyweights Larsen and Toubro,

Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI among others. The 30-

share index spurted in the last five minutes of trade to fly-past the crucial level

and scaled a new intra-day peak at 20,024.87 points before ending at its fresh

closing high of 19,977.67, a gain of 734.50 points. The NSE Nifty rose to a

record high 5,922.50 points before ending at 5,905.90, showing a hefty gain of

203.60 points.

January 8, 2008

The sensex peaks. It crossed the 21,000 mark in intra-day trading after 49

trading sessions. This was backed by high market confidence of increased FII

investment and strong corporate results for the third quarter. However, it later fell

back due to profit booking.

4.3 SENSEX  ArchivesFor the period From Year 1991 to Year 2009

Year Open High Low1991 1,027.38  1,955.29  947.14 1992 1,957.33  4,546.58  1,945.48 1993 2,617.78  3,459.07  1,980.06 1994 3,436.87  4,643.31  3,405.88 1995 3,910.16  3,943.66  2,891.45 1996 3,114.08  4,131.22  2,713.12 1997 3,096.65  4,605.41  3,096.65 1998 3,658.34  4,322.00  2,741.22 1999 3,064.95  5,150.99  3,042.25 2000 5,209.54  6,150.69  3,491.55 2001 3,990.65  4,462.11  2,594.87 2001 3,990.65  4,462.11  2,594.87 2002 3,262.01  3,758.27  2,828.48 2003 3,383.85  5,920.76  2,904.44 2004 5,872.48  6,617.15  4,227.50 2005 6,626.49  9,442.98  6,069.33 2006 9,422.49  14,035.30  8,799.01 2007 13,827.77  20,498.11  12,316.10 2008 20,325.27  21,206.77  7,697.39 2009 9,720.55  10,469.72  8,631.60 

5. National Stock Exchange of India

5.1 Introduction

In the year 1991 Pherwani Committee recommended to establish National

Stock Exchange (NSE) in India. In 1992 the Government of India authorized

IDBI for establishing this exchange. In National Stock Exchange there is trading

of equity shares, bonds and government securities. India's Stock Exchanges

particularly National Stock Exchange has achieved world standards in the recent

years. The NSE India ranked its 3rd position since last four years in terms of total

number of trading per calendar year.

Presently there are 24 stock exchanges in India, out of which 20 have

exchanges National Stock Exchange (NSE), over the Counter Exchange of India

Ltd, (OTCEI) and Inter-connected Stock Exchange of India limited (ISE) have

nationwide trading facilities.

The National Stock Exchange of India Limited or S&P CNX NIFTY

(NSE), is a Mumbai-based stock exchange. It is the largest stock exchange in

India in terms of daily turnover and number of trades, for both equities and

derivative trading.[1]. Though a number of other exchanges exist, NSE and the

Bombay Stock Exchange are the two most significant stock exchanges in India,

and between them are responsible for the vast majority of share transactions. The

NSE's key index is the S&P CNX Nifty, known as the Nifty, an index of fifty

major stocks weighted by market capitalisation.

NSE is mutually-owned by a set of leading financial institutions, banks,

insurance companies and other financial intermediaries in India but its ownership

and management operate as separate entities. There are at least 2 foreign investors

NYSE Euronext and Goldman Sachs who have taken a stake in the NSE. As of

2006, the NSE VSAT terminals, 2799 in total, cover more than 1500 cities across

India. In October 2007, the equity market capitalization of the companies listed

on the NSE was US$ 1.46 trillion, making it the second largest stock exchange in

South Asia. NSE is the third largest Stock Exchange in the world in terms of the

number of trades in equities. It is the second fastest growing stock exchange in

the world with a recorded growth of 16.6%.

5.1 Origins

The National Stock Exchange of India was promoted by leading Financial

institutions at the behest of the Government of India, and was incorporated in

November 1992 as a tax-paying company. In April 1993, it was recognized as a

stock exchange under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956. NSE

commenced operations in the Wholesale Debt Market (WDM) segment in June

1994. The Capital Market (Equities) segment of the NSE commenced operations

in November 1994, while operations in the Derivatives segment commenced in

June 2000.

5.2 NSE has the following major segments of the capital market:

(a) Equity (b) Futures and Options

(c) Retail Debt Market (d) Wholesale Debt Market

(e) Currency futures

5.3 Working Hours

NSE's normal trading sessions are from 09:55am to 03:30pm on all days of

the week except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays declared by the Exchange in

advance.

6. Sensex & Nifty

The Sensex is an "index". What is an index? An index is basically an

indicator. It gives you a general idea about whether most of the stocks have gone

up or most of the stocks have gone down. The Sensex is an indicator of all the

major companies of the BSE.

The Nifty is an indicator of all the major companies of the NSE. If the

Sensex goes up, it means that the prices of the stocks of most of the major

companies on the BSE have gone up. If the Sensex goes down, this tells you that

the stock price of most of the major stocks on the BSE have gone down.

Just like the Sensex represents the top stocks of the BSE, the Nifty

represents the top stocks of the NSE. Just in case you are confused, the BSE, is

the Bombay Stock Exchange and the NSE is the National Stock Exchange. The

BSE is situated at Bombay and the NSE is situated at Delhi. These are the major

stock exchanges in the country. There are other stock exchanges like the Calcutta

Stock Exchange etc. but they are not as popular as the BSE and the NSE. Most of

the stock trading in the country is done though the BSE & the NSE.

Returns for every possible 15 yr period starting from Apr '79 to Aug '04

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

35.00

Mar-

94

Mar-

95

Mar-

96

Mar-

97

Mar-

98

Mar-

99

Mar-

00

Mar-

01

Mar-

02

Mar-

03

Mar-

04

Besides Sensex and the Nifty there are many other indexes. There is an

index that gives you an idea about whether the mid-cap stocks go up and down.

This is called the “BSE Mid-cap Index”. There are many other types of indexes.

7. Demat account

In India, a demat account, the abbreviation for dematerialised account, is a

type of banking account which dematerializes paper-based physical stock shares.

The dematerialised account is used to avoid holding physical shares: the shares

are bought and sold through a stock broker.

This account is popular in India. The Securities and Exchange Board of

India (SEBI) mandates a demat account for share trading above 500 shares. As of

April 2006, it became mandatory that any person holding a demat account should

possess a Permanent Account Number (PAN), and the deadline for submission of

PAN details to the depository lapsed on January 2007.

7.1 Procedure

1. Fill demat request form (DRF)

(obtained from a depository participant or DP with whom your

depository account is opened).

2. Deface the share certificate(s) you want to dematerialise by writing

across Surrendered for dematerialisation.

3. Submit the DRF & share certificate(s) to DP. DP would forward

them to the issuer / their R&T Agent .

4. After dematerialisation, your depository account with your DP,

would be credited with the dematerialised securities.

7.2 Required Documents for Demat Account

The extent of documentation required to open a demat account may vary

according to your relationship with the institution. If you plan to open a demat

account with a bank, a savings, current and, or other account for which the holder

have been issued a check book, such holder has an edge over the non-account

holder. In fact, banks usually offer additional incentives to customers who open a

demat account with them. Along with the application form, your photographs

(with co-applicants) and proof of identity/residence/date of birth have to be

submitted. The DPs also ask for a DP-client agreement to be executed on non-

judicial stamp paper. Here is a broad list:

1. A canceled check, preferably MICR

2. Proof of Identification

3. Proof of Address

4. Proof of Pan card (mandatory)

5. Recent photographs (one and/or more)

For proof of identification and, or address self-attested facsimile copies of

PAN card, Voter’s ID, Passport, Ration card, Driver’s license, Photo credit card,

Employee ID card, Bank attestation, latest IT returns and, or latest

Electricity/Landline phone bill are sufficient. While they only ask for photocopies

of the documents, they will need the originals for verification.

7.3 The benefits of Demat Account

1. A safe and convenient way to hold securities.

2. Immediate transfer of securities.

3. No stamp duty on transfer of securities.

4. Elimination of risks associated with physical certificates such as bad

delivery, fake securities, delays, thefts etc.

5. Reduction in paperwork involved in transfer of securities;

6. Reduction in transaction cost;

7. No odd lot problem, even one share can be sold;

8. Nomination facility;

9. Change in address recorded with DP gets registered with all

companies in which investor holds securities electronically

eliminating the need to correspond with each of them separately;

10. Transmission of securities is done by DP eliminating

correspondence with companies Automatic credit into demat account

of shares, arising out of bonus/split/consolidation/merger etc.

11. Holding investments in equity and debt instruments in a single

account.

METHODOLOGY ADOPTED

In order to achieve the above objectives the following method of the data collecton has been adopted.

Data Collection :

The required data for above study is collected through sources.

1. Primary Data

2. Socondary Data

1. Primary Data :

Primary data refers to information that is generated to meet the specific

requirements of the investigation at hand. This data is collected by me and my

friends observation.

The primary data collection is also conducted for more information needed

for research purpose.

2. Secondary Data :-

Secondary data is information that is collected for purpose other to solve

the specific problem under investigation. This data may be available in the past

records, reports or in any previous written documents, which documents, which

may include report of the surveys, pamphlets & newspapers.

Secondary data is collected from the Journals, Magazines & Various

reports available with the Environmental Studies. The data whatever is required is

collected through Books.

BIBILIOGRAPHY

1. From the internet Websites

a) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_Stock_Exchange

b) www.bseindia.com

c) www.nseindia.com