Learn the stock market › The stock market from zero › Lesson 2 of 9
What is the stock market?
One real day
This is how much traded on Nov 6, 2026.
| Nov 6, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Companies traded | 20 |
| Value traded, total | $174 billion |
| Nvidia | $33.6 billion |
| AMD | $20.5 billion |
| Apple | $15.3 billion |
The amounts are shares traded times the closing price, so they are estimates. The table counts only 20 of the largest US companies, not everything listed. Thousands of other companies and funds trade too. The most traded was Nvidia, at $33.6 billion.
It is nearly always like this. A few large companies make up much of the trading, while many small ones can go days with few trades.
What an exchange does
An exchange is a little like a market square with strict rules. The same thing is on sale everywhere and everyone sees the price. It does three things:
It brings buyers and sellers together. Trades are between the people and firms trading: individuals, funds and trading firms. The exchange is not on the other side.
It shows prices in the open. Anyone can see what the last trade was made at. How that price is set is in the lesson on a stock's price.
It sets requirements. Companies must meet rules to be listed, and they must tell everyone about their results and major events at the same time.
Which exchanges there are
In the US, the largest are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq. Almost every large country has its own. How trading works in practice is in a later lesson.
Test yourself
You buy a stock on the market. Who do you buy it from?
How did it go today? How the market did.