Disclaimer

Depending upon the size of the company, they are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ, American or the Over The Counter Exchange. There are also many Foreign Exchanges are world wide.  We will concentrate on the United States for the mean time.

The New York Stock Exchange will be the main exchange. This is where the big boys are, the general recognized company names. The blue chip stocks and the most common name, the Dow Jones. The Dow is comprised of 30 companies that are a select group in order to set one of the standards for what the market is doing.

There are several other "market indicators" or indexes. They include:  NYSE Index, S&P 500, NASDAQ and a few others. Take a look at all of them to  give you a better idea of over all market movement.

There are many factors involved with the way the market react and or the way each stock will act. Some react differently depending upon the news. The major factors can be basic economic stats. Some of these are: Dollar strength, overall money supply, interest rates, inflation, recession, unemployment figures, new housing starts.  Over time you will become aware of these. 

Many factors are involved with the company.. Earnings reports, profits and losses, insider buying or selling. Shifting of Vice Presidents, CEO resigned, pending lawsuits, mergers, more than you could imagine will effect the price of the stock.

A broker or stock analyst will put out a buy, sell or hold rating for various reasons that will effect a stocks movement.  This might occur by them adding or pulling a stock on their recommended list. Just remember this is just and opinion! The point is that there are so many different things that can happen to where there really is no logic at all. Do not beat yourself up over trying to learn it all.