A share market, also known as a stock market, is a platform where buyers and sellers come together to trade publicly listed shares during specific hours of the day. It is a place where companies issue shares and other securities for trading. The stock market allows companies to raise money by offering stock shares and corporate bonds and allows investors to buy and sell these shares. The stock market is a component of a free-market economy because it enables democratized access to investor trading and exchange of capital.

Key points to understand about the share market include:

• Primary Market: When a company registers itself for the first time at the stock exchange to raise funds through shares, it enters the primary market. This is called an Initial Public Offering (IPO), after which the company becomes publicly registered and its shares can be traded within market participants.

• Secondary Market: Once a company’s new securities have been sold in the primary market, they are then traded on the secondary stock market. Here, investors get the opportunity to buy and sell the shares among themselves at the prevailing market prices.

• Types of Financial Instruments: There are four categories of financial instruments that are traded on the stock exchange: shares, bonds, derivatives, and forex.

• Regulation: The stock market is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and local regulatory bodies.

The stock market is a place where anyone can buy and sell fractional ownership in a publicly traded company. It distributes control of companies among a wide range of people, rather than just a few large investors.