How does the stock market work?

How little changes hands

These five companies traded the most on Nov 6, 2026, counted in dollars.

The part is counted against all of the company's shares. Most owners do nothing at all on an ordinary day.

So the price is set by whoever is trading at that moment. The whole company's market cap is then worked out from that price, even though almost no one bought or sold.

From order to trade

1. A buyer and a seller place orders. Each does it through a broker, which sends the order on. A buyer names the highest price they will pay, and a seller the lowest they will accept.

2. The orders are matched. As soon as a bid and an offer meet, there is a trade. Orders that don't meet wait for someone who will.

3. That price becomes the quote. The last trade shows as the stock's price. What moves it is in the lesson on a stock's price.

4. Shares and money change owners. This happens automatically shortly afterwards. You mostly notice it when the shares appear in your account.

Who is trading

Individuals are only part of it. Funds, pension managers, banks and trading firms trade too, and much of their trading is run by computers. They all meet in the same system under the same rules.

The waiting in between

The main session runs only part of the day, so the price mostly stands still overnight. News builds up, and the next morning a stock can open some way from yesterday's close. See days when the whole market moves.

Want to see a day in numbers? How the market did.