Share market basics
Initial public offering: the first sale of a company's shares to the public, after which the shares list and trade on the stock exchange.
An IPO, or initial public offering, is when a private company sells shares to the public for the first time and lists on NSE or BSE. Investors apply during a window of a few days at a price band set by the company, using the ASBA facility through their bank or a UPI mandate through their broker. Retail applications are in lots; if demand exceeds supply, allotment is by lottery, and many applicants get nothing. Suppose a company offers shares at ₹100 with a lot of 150 shares, so one application blocks ₹15,000. On listing day, the share may open above or below ₹100. Listing gains are never assured; several large IPOs have listed at a discount and stayed there for years. Read the red herring prospectus, look at what the company earns and why it is raising money, and ignore grey market chatter.
VideoA share is a portion of a company. The share market is where those portions change hands. Here is how it works, what you can trade in it, and why most people who trade actively lose money.
VideoThe share market runs on two activities that look alike and are nothing alike. Investing is owning a business for years. Trading is profiting from price moves over hours or weeks. Mixing them up is behind most early losses.
VideoTrading comes in a few distinct forms, and the one you pick decides how much time, capital and stress it takes. This lesson explains intraday, swing, positional, futures and options trading with Indian examples.
