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Stock MarketThe stock market consists of a set of exchanges and other venues where shares of public companies are bought and sold. The Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange are two of the most well-known exchanges in the US, while major exchanges also operate around the world, including in Tokyo, Shanghai, London, and São Paulo.
In the early 1600s, the Dutch East India Company spurred the creation of the first-ever stock exchange, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (now Euronext Amsterdam). To fund its ocean voyages, the company sold shares and paid dividends to investors. In 1792, 24 stockbrokers and merchants signed the "Buttonwood Tree Agreement" that created the New York Stock Exchange.
The sentence, "I own 10 shares of Apple stock," illustrates the difference between stocks and shares. Investors spend their careers trying to anticipate what the stock market will do next by structuring risk, using tax advantages, and undertaking due diligence. Roughly 90% of active managers of large, public funds underperform the major indexes. Explore Stock Market
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Read about the 'gatekeeper' of the stock market, former index chair at S&P GlobalDavid Blitzer, the former index chair at S&P Global, earned the nickname "gatekeeper" of the stock market after helping decide which companies made it into the S&P 500 for 24 years. Blitzer became a legend in the world of indexing and has a reputation for being even-tempered and always wearing a bow tie. QuartzSome private credit funds trade on the stock marketThese funds, which trade at market prices, are called "public BDCs," which stands for "business development companies." For instance, the global alternative investment manager Ares Management Corp. has a public BDC. JP MorganFamed American investor Jesse Livermore made millions when the stock market crashed in 1929Livermore made his first major short against rail company Union Pacific in 1906, coincidentally before an earthquake in San Francisco, which ultimately tanked share prices. During a financial panic the next year, JP Morgan reportedly asked Livermore to increase his long-term investments to restore hope and restabilize the market—which Livermore did. However, Livermore began betting against the market in 1929, sensing that stocks were too hot, and was one of the few people to benefit from the 1929 stock crash. Business HistoryThe 1929 stock market crash is a defining example of a financial bubble burstFueled by margin speculation and intense optimism, stock prices soared to unsustainable levels before collapsing in late October—erasing billions in market value within days. History That Doesn't SuckThe stock market, explained in 3 minutesThe stock market consists of a set of exchanges and other venues where shares of public companies are bought and sold. The Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange are two of the most well-known exchanges in the US, while major exchanges also operate around the world, including in Tokyo, Shanghai, London, and São Paulo. 1440 Daily'Rocky Road' was designed to help people cope with the stock market crashIn 1929, ice cream maker William Dreyer marketed Rocky Road as a sweet treat intended to distract consumers from the poor state of the economy. (Some readers may experience a paywall.) The AtlanticThe stock market's volatility between 2017 and 2025, visualizedThe CBOE Volatility Index measures expected stock market volatility using the prices of options on the S&P 500. When traders expect large moves in the market, options prices tend to rise as more options are purchased to bet on the direction of the move. Visual CapitalistThe Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stock market indexThe Dow Jones Industrial Average tracks 30 large U.S. companies from all major U.S. sectors except for utilities and transportation. It's considered a bellwether of the U.S. economy. InvestopediaThe wealthiest Americans own the vast majority of the stock marketRecent data from the Federal Reserve shows that the richest people in America own 93% of all the country's stock—the highest level ever recorded. Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of Americans held just 1% of all stocks. Business InsiderThe stock market has crashed many times throughout historyHave you ever wondered how long it takes the market to recover after a crash? This chart outlines major stock market dips throughout history and tracks how many days it took for the market to recover. FlowingDataHow the stock market performed under every US presidentIt's worth noting that the stock market as we know it today didn't exist under the leadership of earlier presidents, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. KiplingerThe Vanguard Total Stock Market Index, was worth roughly $1.47T as of February 2024That fund (and the other seven largest mutual funds by assets) is an index fund, meaning it invests in a specific set of preset securities. BankrateThe stock market, explained in 3 minutesCurious about the inner workings of the stock market? 1440's got your breakdown of how it works. 1440 Daily DigestActive investors try to 'beat' the stock market's performanceThere are two primary types of investment strategies that professional investors use: active investing and passive investing. While active investors try to "beat" the stock market's performance, passive investors have a bit more faith in the system. TED-Ed40 key stock market terms, explainedLiquidity. Forex. Capitalization. Blue chip stocks. These are just a few pieces of stock market vocabulary most people who don't spend all day on a trading floor might not know. Thankfully, we found a fun infographic that makes it easier to learn what 40 key stock market terms mean and why each of them matters. Visual CapitalistRide along on one coffee company’s journey through the stock marketFrom going public with an initial public offering, to struggling with how negative news coverage impacts a stock’s value, this video lets you put yourself in the shoes of a newly public company. This makes learning about the inner workings of the stock market much easier. TED-EdA stock market timelineThe stock market has come a long way since the 1600s, when the first version of a stock exchange was created in Amsterdam. Mile markers along the way include everything from the Dow Jones Industrial Average's creation in 1896 to the stock market woes during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. SoFiWhy does the stock market matter?Open any newspaper, turn on your local TV news station, or listen to a daily business radio segment, and you’re bound to hear about how the stock market is performing. Netflix created a 17-minute (free) explainer that dives deep into the nitty-gritty of how we got here. NetflixSee the world’s largest stock markets in 1900 versus 2023The US is now home to the world's largest stock market, but that wasn't always the case. This data visualization shows where the largest stock markets in the world were in 1900, then compares that map to the current geographical distribution of stock markets today, based on each country’s percentage share of global market capitalization. See what it looks like by clicking here. Visual CapitalistVisualizing decades of stock market performanceStock markets and the indexes that track their biggest companies tend to ebb and flow, with long growth periods punctuated by shorter recessions. Track the 60-year history of one of the most common stock market indexes, the S&P 500, with this data visualization. The chart highlights the long-term durability of markets despite appearance of short-term volatility. Visual CapitalistSee all 16 Fed Chairs ranked by stock market performanceSixteen people have held the office of Fed Chair since 1913, with varying results. From the Fed’s first leader, Charles Hamlin, to Jerome Powell, see in a ranked list how stocks fared for each chair within distinct macroeconomic conditions. US Money NewsNYC's first subway was built largely in secretIn 1870, Alfred Ely Beach secretly tunneled under Broadway in 58 nights, disguising his pneumatic subway as a mail tube to fool Tammany Hall, the corrupt political machine that ran New York City. Nearly half a million New Yorkers rode it before politics, and a stock market crash killed the project. PBSListen to a 2026 interview where Bumble's CEO said its stock is down 96% since its IPO 'for no reason'CEO and Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd said the company is still performing very well. She added that the business makes $1B per year and referred to it as profitable. She went on to say "who knows what people trade stock on?" and that she believes the stock market has written Bumble off as if it were debt The BossticksRay Dalio started his career as a golf caddy in Long IslandWhen Dalio was 12 years old, he worked as a golf caddy at the Links Golf Club. That's where he heard about the stock market for the first time and decided to invest in Northeast Airlines—the only stock he knew that was selling for less than $5 a share. Dalio ended up tripling his profit and became fascinated with the stock market—ultimately laying the foundation for his legendary career as a hedge fund manager. GolfThe origin of chaos theory, colloquially known as the 'butterfly effect'The theory explains that systems following well-understood physical laws can still produce unpredictable outcomes due to small variations in their initial conditions. Originally identified in weather data, elements of chaos have been observed in stock market fluctuations, cardiac arrhythmias, and the evolution of online social movements. VeritasiumInsider trading is the practice of trading a company's securities based on material, nonpublic information"Material, nonpublic" information is essentially any undisclosed information that could have a substantial impact on an investor's decision to trade a security. While the practice is strictly prohibited on the stock market, it's now being discussed regarding less-regulated but increasingly popular prediction markets. InvestopediaPrediction market Kalshi's cofounders are former Wall Street tradersKalshi's CEO Tarek Mansour has described prediction markets as similar to the stock market—except instead of buying and selling shares of companies, users buy and sell "yes" or "no" on whether an event is going to happen or not. CBS Sunday MorningThe Great Depression is one of history's most notable periods of deflationThe stock market crash of 1929 helped trigger a period of deflation in the United States by creating a drastic decrease in the total money supply. Because of the United States' central role in the world economy, virtually every single country was impacted by the recession. Casual EconomicsStock indexes track markets through groupings of companiesA stock index measures the performance of selected companies, offering a snapshot of market trends. Examples include the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite. WhyzeStand-up became more popular during the Great DepressionThe stock market crash of 1929 caused vaudeville theaters to shutter. Audiences were looking for lighthearted distractions from the country’s financial problems, though, and stand-up became more popular, albeit in very different venues. NPRMarkets have always recovered and hit new highs following crashesThe crash that preceded the Great Depression was the most severe the US has ever experienced. It was 28 times worse than the downturn that followed the Cuban Missile Crisis. Morningstar, Inc.The Great Depression was an international depression felt far beyond the USMany countries suffered through a depression in the 1930s that the First World War, the US stock market crash, and an economic downturn in Germany turned into an international crisis. Office of the HistorianMultiple business choices may have hindered Sears’ financial successThere’s no shortage of potential culprits for Sears’ death, from hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, to Amazon, to the 2008 stock market crash. InvestopediaExplore a list of the world’s weirdest and wildest ETFs Whether you’re leaping straight into the future and looking for stocks picked by AI, a sci-fi aficionado who wants to invest in space travel, or a drama enthusiast looking to make money on stock market volatility, the ETF market’s weird corners have something for you. BankrateWhat 401(k) savers near retirement can do amid market volatilityIf you're close to retirement, volatility in the stock market can feel scary. This guide for 401(k) savers has suggestions on what to do with your retirement accounts during uncertain times, based on how close you are to the age you'd like to retire. KiplingerRetail investor inflowsMany retail investors exited the stock market after 2008, leading to a drop in individual market participation. That changed thanks to GameStop, federal stimulus checks, and strong corporate results in the first quarter of 2021. This chart plots how much retail investors poured into the market each day, reaching records in early 2023. Click here to see it. Visual CapitalistRetail investing by the numbers When average Americans began pouring into the stock market, Wall Street wasn’t sure if its new guests were there to stay. But at the end of 2023, Public confidently declared that retail investors “weren’t going anywhere” after 30 million new individuals began buying and selling stock. Download the report to learn more here. PublicThe story of the Wall Street Crash of 1929The 1920s in the US "roared" with rapid economic growth after the conclusion of World War I. But in October 1929, the bubbly stock markets crashed dramatically, plunging the nation into the decadelong Great Depression. History That Doesn't SuckThe number of publicly traded companies has decreased in recent yearsIn 1996, more than 7,300 companies traded publicly on US stock markets, but that number has recently dropped to 4,300. Economists point to two reasons: First, going public requires full disclosure of operations, exposing it to scrutiny from investors, competitors, and analysts. Second, the IPO process is expensive and time-consuming. 1440JP Morgan Jr. once angered the nation with his zero-dollar tax billIn the aftermath of the Great Depression, Congress learned that Morgan and his banking partners had avoided paying any federal income tax in 1931 and 1932. By claiming their losses in the stock market, they seemingly erased what they owed. Tax NotesThe number of publicly traded companies has decreased significantlyThe stock market hit a peak in 1996, when more than 7,000 companies were publicly traded. But in 2024, there were nearly half that many publicly traded companies. CNNShares are parts of a stock that represent ownership of a companyShares are traded on the stock market. Once you buy a single share of a company, you are considered a shareholder of that company and may have certain rights as a partial owner, such as voting on business decisions. InvestopediaMany investment bankers work on IPOsWhen a company undertakes an IPO, investment banks often buy many of the organization’s shares directly from the company, in order to sell the shares on the stock market. The bank stands to profit after marking up the shares. Markets.comA bond ETF lets someone invest in multiple bonds through one single fundThere are risks, there are also major perks to buying a bond ETF, like the ability to purchase bonds on the stock market. BankrateThe best (and worst) Federal Reserve chairs since 1914Sixteen men and women have held the office of Federal Reserve chair since 1913, with varying results in the stock markets. While Fed monetary policy is only one part of the recipe for a bull or bear market, a Fed chair is judged by the macroeconomic conditions they leave as a legacy. 1440Why companies go publicThere are many ways the founders of private companies can make money off an exit. They could sell the company to a larger organization, for instance. But there are unique benefits to having a company listed on the stock market that aren’t often outlined in news alerts about IPOs. CNBC InternationalInitial public offering (IPO) is the term for when a company goes publicWhen a company completes its IPO, it's no longer a privately owned organization. Anyone can invest in the company by buying its shares on the stock market—opening up ownership of the business to the general public. NerdWalletThe US unemployment rate soared to over 24% during the Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a devastating and prolonged economic recession that followed the crash of the US stock market in 1929. InvestopediaRead Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters from 1977 onEach year, Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder letters are eagerly anticipated by employees and Buffett fans alike. A resource lists every single letter from 1977 and is great for anyone seeking a peek behind the curtain into Buffett’s brain through years of stock market booms and busts. Berkshire HathawayThe cryptocurrency equivalent of going publicAn initial coin offering (ICO) is cryptocurrency's version of an initial public offering (IPO). Similar to the way a company offers shares on the stock market for the first time, ICOs occur when a cryptocurrency company seeks to raise funding for a new coin, app, or service. If you're entering the field, get the details on how it all works. Investopedia
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