Share market basics
The settlement cycle on Indian exchanges where shares and money change hands one working day after the trade date.
T+1 settlement means that when you trade on day T, the shares and the money are exchanged on the next working day. India moved fully to T+1 in January 2023, ahead of most major markets, and optional T+0 settlement has been introduced for some stocks. If you buy 10 SBI shares on Monday, they are credited to your demat account on Tuesday; if you sell, the money becomes fully withdrawable on Tuesday, though brokers usually let you use most of it for further trades immediately. Settlement matters for corporate actions: to receive a dividend you must own the shares before the record date, which means buying at least a day earlier. Selling shares you bought the same day is intraday, not delivery. Selling delivery shares before they are credited, called BTST, carries a small risk of short delivery and auction penalties.
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.
