BUYING trading stocks
Investors most commonly buy and trade stock through brokers.

You can set up an account by depositing cash or stocks in a broker-age account
Once you open an account you will tell your broker how many and what types of stocks you’d like to purchase. The broker executes the trade on the your behalf. In turn, he or she earns a commission, normally many cents per share. Online trading sites typically charge lower commission fees, because most of the trading is done electronically.

After selecting the stocks that you want to purchase, you can either make a “market order” or a “limit order.” A market order is one in which you request a stock purchase at the prevailing market price. A limit order is when you request to buy a stock at a limited price.

Once you open an account you will tell your broker how many and what types of stocks you’d like to purchase. The broker executes the trade on the your behalf. In turn, he or she earns a commission, normally many cents per share. Online trading sites typically charge lower commission fees, because most of the trading is done electronically.

After selecting the stocks that you want to purchase, you can either make a “market order” or a “limit order.” A market order is one in which you request a stock purchase at the prevailing market price. A limit order is when you request to buy a stock at a limited price.

Stock trading, once the sole domain of Wall Street, has become easily and affordably available to all in the last 20 years, thanks to online broker-ages. Prior to online trading, people relied on the services of a stock broker, who would make buy orders on the customer's behalf. individuals are able to execute sell orders themselves in a fraction of a second using computerized trading services.
While trading stocks — which are shares of ownership in a company — can make you a fortune, it's just as easy to lose that money. To become a successful trader, it is crucial that you become familiar with the tools of trading, the theory behind it and the daily reports that drive market shifts.
Stock market basics
Like all businesses, the stock market manipulate on a system of supply and demand. When you purchase stock, your hope is that other traders become more eager to own a share of that company over time. When the stock's popularity increases, traders will compete to own it and bid up the sale price. In theory, a rising share price is the result of improvements in the firm's value and potential, also known as its fundamentals. In reality, stock amount change for any number of reasons, only some of which investors are able to predict.
Researching and choosing stock
There are two main schools of thought regarding how to choose stocks. The first, called fundamental analysis, relies on the use of a company's financial reports and public statements to analyze the health of the business. Balance sheets, income statements, yearly and quarterly earnings, and news releases from the company are all important tools for a fundamental analysis. Fortunately, those reports are easily searchable online, as are tutorials on how to read them, such as those offered by the SEC. Market and industry trends, media publications and historical analysis also play a role.
The second school of investing is called technical analysis. Technical analysts believe that swings in stock prices follow patterns that traders can learn to detect and profit from.. However, many traders use a combination of the two techniques to choose stocks. Choosing a company with sound fundamentals and then occasionally trading on a technical indicator is a safer strategy that relying only on technical indicators.
Before deciding to buy or sell any stock, you should thoroughly research the company, its leadership and its competition.