Global Equities Investing

The stock market refers to public markets that exist for issuing, buying and selling stocks that trade on a stock exchange or over the counter. Stocks represent ownership in a company, and the stock market is a place where investors can buy and sell ownership of such investible assets. An efficiently functioning stock market is considered critical to economic development, as it gives companies the ability to quickly approach capital from the public.

The stock market serves two very important purposes. The first is to provide capital to companies that they can use to fund and expand their businesses. If a company issues one million shares of stock that initially sell for Kr10 a share, then that generates the company with Kr10 million of capital that it can use to grow its business. By offering stock shares instead of borrowing the capital needed for expansion, the company avoids incurring debt and paying interest.

Another purpose the stock market serves is to give investors the opportunity to share in the profits of publicly traded companies. Investors can profit from stock buying in two ways. Some stocks pay regular dividends (a given amount of money per share of stock someone owns). The other way investors can profit from buying stocks is by selling their stock at a higher price. For example, if an investor buys shares of a company’s stock at Kr10 a share and the price of the stock subsequently rises to Kr15 a share, the investor can then realize a 50% profit on their investment by selling their shares.

Most stocks are traded on exchanges such as the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE) or the NASDAQ. Stock exchanges essentially allow the marketplace to facilitate the buying and selling of stocks among investors. Stock exchanges are regulated by government agencies that oversee the market in order to protect investors from financial fraud and to keep the exchange market functioning smoothly. Although the vast majority of stocks are traded on exchanges, some stocks are traded over the counter (OTC), where buyers and sellers of stocks commonly trade through a dealer.

Exchange trading has also become very attractive for private investors due to the internet age; with real-time prices, you keep an eye on the stock market at all times. The decision as to whether, when and what to buy or sell is entirely up to you in online trading.

To make a purchase or sale, enter an order within your account that your broker will forward to your desired stock exchange. The prices for the order are determined by your broker. At PSS, you pay a flat-rate order fee of 4.95 EUR per trade plus third-party fees.

This pays off especially if you give up many orders or trade large volumes. The stock exchange trading venues charge so-called stock exchange fees. These can be looked up or inquired online on the portals of the stock exchanges.

If you have placed your order, you will shortly receive your confirmation, if a corresponding counteroffer is present. That is, if you want to sell a number of securities, another trader will want to buy those securities. The stock exchange assumes the role of mediator.

You should look at the costs of the order, the additional stock exchange fees and the trading hours. When you implement a trade, the order fee is incurred in any case. You pay this fee to your broker.

Depending on the trading venue, there is an additional exchange fee, which must be obtained from the stock exchange and paid to it. Stock exchanges also have trading hours comparable to store opening hours. Normally you trade on weekdays from 8:00 to 22:00. These times vary between the trading venues. When ordering, consider the holidays as well. Some stock exchanges allow online stock market trading on public holidays, others do not.