
How does a stock price actually go up or down?
Sep 27, 2021 · Everything from a breakout news story to a shareholder meeting can impact a stock’s price. A lot of times, it has to do with supply and demand, such as we saw during the …
What causes stock prices to go up and down?
Stock prices go up and down based on supply and demand. When people want to buy a stock versus sell it, the price goes up. If people want to sell a stock versus buying it, the price goes …
What makes share prices go up and down?
Jan 02, 2022 · Stock prices are driven up and down in the short term by supply and demand, and the supply-demand balance is driven by market sentiment. But investors don't change their …
How does shorting a stock drive its price down?
Jan 22, 2015 · This is a basic yet fundamental question: what drives stock prices? In the most literal and superficial analysis reveals it to be simply supply and demand. If more people want …

Why do stock prices go up and down?
Stock prices go up and down based on supply and demand. When people want to buy a stock versus selling it, the price goes up. If people want to sell a stock versus buying it, the price goes down. Forecasting whether there will be more buyers or sellers in a stock requires additional research, however. Buyers are attracted to stocks ...
Why do stocks go up?
Sometimes, stocks go up simply because they have been going up. In a strategy known as momentum investing, investors buy shares in rising stocks and sell shares in those that are following. This momentum builds on itself and continues to drive rising share prices higher.
What is stock in business?
A stock is simply an ownership share in a physical company. Stock shares allow investors to buy or sell an interest in a company on an exchange through a bidding process. Sellers indicate prices at which they are asking to give up their shares, and buyers similarly post prices at which they’re bidding to buy shares.
What does earnings per share mean?
Earnings per share represent a company’s profitability. Generally speaking, investors are more interested in companies with rising earnings. Earnings per share is also a metric for comparison to other companies in a particular industry.
What is the P/E ratio?
The P/E ratio, or price/earnings ratio, is another metric for comparison that investors use to value stocks. The P/E ratio simply consists of a stock price divided by its earnings.
Is it possible for a stock to go up or down?
In spite of all the ways to evaluate stocks, the truth is that no one can say with absolute certainty when a stock will go up in value or down. However, in the long run, the trend in the overall stock market is up.
Who is John Csiszar?
After earning a B.A. in English with a Specialization in Business from UCLA, John Csiszar worked in the financial services industry as a registered representative for 18 years. Along the way, Csiszar earned both Certified Financial Planner and Registered Investment Adviser designations, in addition to being licensed as a life agent, while working for both a major Wall Street wirehouse and for his own investment advisory firm. During his time as an advisor, Csiszar managed over $100 million in client assets while providing individualized investment plans for hundreds of clients.
It's important for investors to understand what drives stocks and the market up and down
Tim writes about technology and consumer goods stocks for The Motley Fool. He's a value investor at heart, doing his best to avoid hyped-up nonsense. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @TMFBargainBin
What can affect stock prices?
High demand for a stock relative to supply drives the stock price higher, but what causes that high demand in the first place?
The big picture is what matters
Long-term investors, like those of us at The Motley Fool, don't much care about the short-term developments that push stock prices up and down each trading day. When you have many years or even decades to let your money grow, things such as analyst upgrades and earnings beats are irrelevant.
Who said "Investing should be boring"?
Legendary investor George Soros once said, “Good investing should be boring”. But an increase in volatile themes today suggests this maxim has gone ignored by at least some market participants.
What is the innovation readiness gap?
BCG uses several metrics to gauge a company’s “innovation readiness,” such as the strength of its talent and culture, its organization ecosystems, and its ability to track performance. According to BCG’s analysis, only 20% of companies surveyed were ready to scale on innovation.
How many people will be in poverty by 2030?
Over the last 30 years, the number has been steadily decreasing — by 2030, an estimated 479 million people will be living in extreme poverty, which according to UN population estimates, will represent only 6% of the population. That said, economic inequality between different regions is still prevalent.
What is the poorest country in the world?
Here’s a glance at the quality of life in the poorest country, Burundi: 80% of the population works in agriculture. 1 in 3 Burundi ans are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Average households spend up to two-thirds of their income on food.
Do stock prices go up or down?
To summarize, stock prices go up or down depending on changes in operating results and the levels of its price ratios. The interesting thing is that changes in operating results most often trigger changes in price ratios. Because the future is hard to predict, operating results often differ (sometimes greatly) from what investors expect them to be.
Who is Mitchell Mauer?
Mitchell Mauer is a retail investor who specializes in finding out-of-favor, special-situation investment opportunities. Mitchell's investment strategy focuses on three different categories: stocks selling for less than liquidation value, spin-offs with undiscovered value, and small-cap stocks trading at a discount to future earnings. ...
What is technical analysis in stock trading?
This analysis uses recent price movements and chart patterns in an effort to predict a stock’s future direction. Technical analysis can influence a stock’s price over the short term, but ultimately its value will come from the long-term earnings power of the business.
What is discount rate?
A discount rate is the rate investors use to calculate the present value of future cash flows. The discount rate can be influenced by an investment’s risk, interest rates and the return available from other investments. Higher discount rates lower the valuation investors are willing to pay.
Who said the market is a voting machine?
Legendary Wall Street analyst and mentor to Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, once said that in the short run the market is a voting machine, and in the long run it is a weighing machine.
What is the key contributor to a company's return?
A key contributor to your return is the company’s growth in profits. This will be driven by the growth rate of the overall economy as well as the circumstances of the specific business.
Who is Brian Beers?
Brian Beers is the senior wealth editor at Bankrate. He oversees editorial coverage of banking, investing, the economy and all things money. Kenneth Chavis IV, CFP®, provides guidance to business owners, entertainers, professional athletes and medical doctors on growing and protecting their wealth.
What is supply and demand in a market economy?
In a market economy, any price movement can be explained by a temporary difference between what providers are supplying and what consumers are demanding. This is why economists say that markets tend towards equilibrium , where supply equals demand. This is how it works with stocks;
How do interest rates affect the economy?
First, interest rates affect how much investors, banks, businesses, and governments are willing to borrow, therefore affecting how much money is spent in the economy. Additionally, rising interest rates make certain "safer" investments (notably U.S. Treasuries) a more attractive alternative to stocks.
Is the stock market a living entity?
"The market," so to speak, is not a living entity. Instead, it is just shorthand for the collective values of individual companies.
Why are interest rates important?
First, interest rates affect how much investors, banks, businesses, and governments are willing to borrow, therefore affecting how much money is spent in the economy.
Who is Mary Hall?
Mary Hall is a freelance editor for Investopedia's Advisor Insights, in addition to being the editor of several books and doctoral papers. Mary received her bachelor's in English from Kent State University with a business minor and writing concentration.
