Stock Trading

Stock trading consists of simple buy/sell operations, taking into consideration features of certain types of stocks, the specificities of operations of trading platforms and the legal characteristics of the transfer of the stocks ownership. The main marketplaces for stocks are the stock exchanges. The set of trading platforms, where transactions take place, is called stock market.

Stock Trading: Stocks and Its Types

Stock refers to the issued securities, reinforcing the shareholder’s right on the receipt of the company's profits (dividends), on participation in the company's management and on part of its property. Stocks are classified as follows:

By the release form (certificated)
By the ownership form (registered and bearer)
By the right on management and dividends (preferred and common)
By company type (public and private)

The Essence of Stock Trading

Stocks grant an opportunity to receive two main types of profit:

Dividend incomes
Incomes from buy/sell transactions

Stock trading has a simple mechanism: buying it at one price and selling at a higher price. Trading operations are usually performed on an online platform via Internet. Any stock trading operation should follow a certain strategy. There are numerous strategies, but no profitable algorithm exists. All trading strategies are based on the resolution of two opposite problems: maximizing profits and minimizing risks. In order to find an optimal solution, an optimal profit/risk ratio should be found. This balance is achieved through the acquisition of skills, experience and development of own strategy.

For trading stocks, you need to have access to the stock exchange or another trading platform. Only brokers have direct access to the stock exchange, so in any case it is necessary to conclude a contract of brokerage services and open an account. As a rule, a precondition for opening such an account is a large sum of initial deposit.

In recent years stock trading though CFD has become very popular. This trading has a number of advantages over traditional stock trading. IFC Markets provides its customers with an extensive number of stocks, which transactions can be performed through CFD trading.

IFC Markets is a leading innovative financial company, offering private and corporate investors wide set of trading and analytical tools. The company provides its clients with Forex and CFD trading through its own-generated trading platform NetTradeX, which is available on PC, iOS, Android and Windows Mobile. The company also offers MetaTrader 4 platform available on PC, Mac OS, iOS, Android and Smartphone. You may compare the advantages of both platforms.