Stock market in facts and figures

Interesting statistics for stock market

1. Total market capitalization

The total market capitalization traded on the stock market is outstanding, with many people trooping into the financial market. The stock market is estimated to be around $95 trillion and is one of the biggest in the financial market.

2. Most expensive stock in the world

Most stocks are worth some pennies, but some stocks are really expensive. An example of the most expensive stock is Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett, which is worth around $303,100.00. Here is a list of the five (5) most expensive stocks and their current price.

These are some of the expensive stock stats in the market right now, but the prices can keep changing with time as the market keeps fluctuating.

3. Companies with the biggest market cap

What stock has the biggest market cap? A company's market cap is derived by multiplying the total outstanding shares by the current share price. The value of all company shares is used to determine the company's worth. Here is a list of the top six (6) firms in market capitalization.

4. The longest bull run in the history of the stock market

The stock market has its ups and down. After a bull run (increase in the price of the stock), there is always a correction in the market. One of the longest bullish runs was in October 1990 and lasted until March 2000. After the stock market decline, another bull run started in 2009 and lasted for 11 years until 2020. The reason for the correction was because of the pandemic outbreak in 2019. That is the longest bull run in the history of the stock market.

5. The share of which industry sector is the largest in the total market capitalization

A sector is just a part of the stock market economy. Knowing which sector has the major market cap helps you know where to invest your money for better yield. The industry sector with the largest market cap is Information technology. As of January 2020, information technology is worth $9.59 trillion, followed by healthcare, $6.26 trillion.

6. The country with the highest market cap

When it comes to transactions in the stock market, every country has its volume in the form of a market cap that it trades for a particular stock. As of 2022, the United States was recorded to have a market cap of almost 60% of world stock. The next largest country was Japan, followed by the United Kingdom.

7. Top stock exchange in the world

A stock exchange is a market platform where stock brokers and traders buy and sell stocks, bonds, securities, etc. All industry sectors are traded on these platforms, from information technology to communication to agriculture. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the world's leading stock exchange, with a market capitalization of about $23 trillion as of December 2022. The NASDAQ stock exchange is another example. These exchanges are operated electronically.

8. Automated stock trading is now the Norm

Many industry sectors are now running on automation, so also the stock market. Computer decisions and algorithms carry over 80% of the stock trading activities. And there has been a tremendous increase in the productivity of the stock exchange example is the NASDAQ exchange.

9. Apple stock market was the first to reach a market cap of $1 trillion

Apple is the world's most valuable stock, and it became the first stock to reach $1 trillion in 2018 and the first to reach a $2 trillion market cap.

10. The world stock market is divided into sectors

There are different Industrial sectors in the stock market. Here is a list of the sectors in the stock markets.

Facts about traders of the stock market

1. How many stock traders around the world

It is estimated that there are around 13.8 to 50 million stock traders around the world. However, only 20% of that number are active stock traders. With the increasing number of smartphones, tracking the exact numbers of stock traders is difficult, as many can use their smartphones to trade online.

2. Which country has the most stock traders

The United States has the most stock traders and also trades the greatest stock volume in the financial market. China came after the United States.

3. The richest stock trader in the world

The most prosperous stock trader in the world is Warren Buffett, the owner of Berkshire Hathaway stock, the most expensive stock in the world. Warren Buffett is estimated to have a net worth of around $104.4 billion.

4. The youngest stock market fraudster

Jonathan Lebed was the youngest stock market fraudster, born September 29, 1984. He is an American businessman and former stock trader who used his computer from his bedroom to defraud people of money by encouraging them to buy a penny stock and duped them. He was 15 years when he reached the court civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

5. A trader accidentally sold $3 billion worth of shares for $5,000 in 2005

In 2005 an inexperienced trader at the Japanese bank attempted to sell one share of J-con stock for ¥640,000. He then mistakenly sold 640,000 shares for ¥1 each. That is, he sold stock worth $3 billion for $5,000.

6. One man understood the U.S. Hydrogen bomb using the stock market

Just by looking at the share prices of chemical suppliers, an economist Armen Alchian in the 1950s, was able to figure out the secret fuel for producing the Hydrogen bomb. He saw that lithium, the fuel used, rose significantly in stock price.

7. Why people avoid stock trading

People avoid trading because they think only wealthy and knowledgeable people can trade in the market. And most of them lose their money while trying to trade, and they give up trading.

8. 16-year-old Beats financial experts

A 16-year-old girl named Rachel Fox, an actor made a huge profit from investing in a stock. She made a profit of 30.4% while trading S&P 500. She also taught people how to trade the stock market.

9. You don't need to have a lot of money to become a stock trader

Many people shy away from stock trading because they don't have enough money to trade the markets, but with as low as $500, you can trade the stock market—another thing you need to be aware of is that you can increase your purchasing power by using leverage. Leverage is just like trading with borrowed money but has its disadvantage. So if you are trading with $500 with a leverage of 20:1, you can trade as if you have $10,000.

10. Analyst at Goldman Sachs predicts the stock market

An analyst at Goldman Sachs predicted that the global market cap of the stock market would continue heading toward $100 trillion. And today, the total market cap of the stock market is around $95 trillion.

Fascinating facts about the stock market

1. The history of the stock market dates back more than 400 years

Before 1602 there was no official stock exchange that existed. Then started the stock exchange of Amsterdam in 1602, the Dutch East India Co. decided to create the first multinational corporation ever. They provided a medium where shareholders could conveniently buy, sell and trade their stocks with other shareholders and investors.

2. The market performs the poorest in September

The September effect has also affected all stock markets, not just the U.S. market. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 have experienced a yearly decline of 1% every September since 1950. The effect is not related to any particular market event or news. Most investors sell their stocks in August in preparation for the September effect.

3. Best-performing major indices

For the last twenty years (20), these are the major indices that performed best from 1998-2018.

4. There are more than 60 stock exchanges in the world

The New York stock exchange and NASDAQ are the biggest stock exchanges in the world. Apart from them, there are well over 60 stock exchanges. You might not have heard of other large and minor exchanges.

5. There are more stock to trade

Are you thinking of stocks to trade? Besides famous stocks like Apple, Amazon, etc., thousands of others exist. They are more than 6,000 stocks to trade from.

6. The stock market tends to recover pretty quickly after a crash

The stock crash happens just like in any other financial market, and when it happens, most times, investors panic and begin selling their stock, but what happens typically is that the market recovers with time. Some investors use the market drop as an avenue to purchase more shares of the stock before it recovers.

7. The value of stock price in the market can change drastically

The stock market can be volatile, so don't expect the stock price to remain the same. It can change drastically, especially when a news release affects a particular stock.

8. The stock market is 70% likely to go up in any year

The stock market can recover from a crash or market correction. And it can go up to 70% every year. For example, in the last 100 years, Dow Jones Inc was up 70% of the time each year. And in the previous 40 years, S&P 500 was up 77% of the years. Chances are that it will continue like that judging from historical data.

9. October is the most volatile month

The stock market experience volatility at its peak during October. This is called the October effect. People also think there is a gap or decline in stock prices in October than other months. Both the 1929 Great Crash and the 1987 Crash occurred in October. There are frequently more significant fluctuations in this month than in any other.

10. You can become a millionaire starting with $1

If you are to start stock trading with just one dollar and could double your earning every day in 20 trading days, you will have earned over $1 million.

The most successful transactions of traders in the world

1. Soros and the Bank of England

George Soros is a well-known hedge fund manager who grew up in Hungary during World War II. One of the largest profits in the world of currency trading was the bet he made against the British pound in 1992, known as the 'black Wednesday". While the banks were longing (buying) the pound, George Soros was shorting (selling) the pound with a position worth more than $10 billion, and he made 1$ billion.

2. Paul Tudor Jones and the 1987 crisis

Paul Jones is the founder and chief investment officer of Tudor Investment, who became famous after predicting the market crash of October 1987, known as "Black Monday." He warned the U.S. government of what to expect, and the Dow Jones stock dropped in value by more than 22%.

3. John Paulson and the 2008 crisis

John Paulson placed an iconic bet against the U.S. housing bubble. He anticipated that the housing market would collapse, and he shorted more than $25 billion of mortgage securities at the dawn of the global financial crisis and made $15 billion in profit.

4. Steve Cohen

In 2005, Steve Cohen made an $8 billion profit in a single stock trade. He shorted the stock of Refco, a commodities and futures trading firm, and made a huge profit when the company declared bankruptcy.

5. David Tepper

In 2009, David Tepper made a single trade that earned him more than $7 billion. He bought distressed financial stocks when they were at their lowest point, and when the market recovered, he sold them for a massive profit.

Top stocks investors philanthropists

How to trade the stock market

Stock trading is just like trading on any other financial market. It has the potential to give you opportunities for wealth creation. It can also sap your entire savings. So to begin getting acquainted with the financial market, put effort into gaining knowledge. After that, you can create a brokerage account on any stock exchange platform. Then with your knowledge, you can place, buy and sell orders. You also need to know where to take profits and stop losses to help protect your capital. You can start with safer stocks.

Five facts about the stock market that will help you succeed in trading

1. Always use a trading plan

For you to be successful in trading, a trading plan is essential. A trading plan is a collection of rules that govern how a trader enters, exits, and manages their money.

2. Have the mindset that trading is a business

To succeed, you must approach trading as a business, not as a hobby. Like any other business, you don't expect to be rich overnight. It takes time.

3. Protect your capital

Trading is risky, and you don't have control over the market, but you can control how you respond to the market by protecting your account capital to stay long in the business.

4. Only risk what you can afford to lose

When trading the financial market, it is essential to do so with money you can afford to lose because of the risk involved to avoid trauma.

5. Always use stop loss

To last longer in the business and protect your capital, it is essential always to use stop loss because you are not in control of the market.

Best broker for stock trading with no fees

eOption

eOption Review

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eOption is a low-cost broker offering a full range of financial services to a broad range of customers all around the world. The company was established in 2017 and is based in the U.S. Beginners and professional traders can trade stocks, ETFs and options here at zero or minimum commission.

Options are the broker’s area of expertise, and therefore the commission for options contracts is charged at only $0.10 per contract. In addition, you can also trade US stock and EFTs with zero commission on the broker’s platform.

The features of the broker novice traders can benefit from include: non minimum deposit, free demo account, and a user-friendly trading platform. Furthermore, the broker’s commissions are not based on the trading volume, which makes it suitable for the beginners as well as professionals. eOption also boasts numerous awards, including THE BEST BROKER FOR LOW-COST OPTIONS TRADING, BEST FOR LOW-COST OPTIONS CONTRACTS.

Robinhood

Robinhood Review

Robinhood is a U.S-based free stock broker that facilitates commission-free trading. Users may like to use Robinhood for stocks, ETFs, and options. It also facilitates trading in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin commission-free. The trading platform of Robinhood is suitable for both beginners and professional traders.

The broker also offers a cash management account that provides an annual percentage yield of 0.30% on the uninvested cash. Investors feel protected with Robinhood as it offers $1.25 million in insurance from Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Robinhoods’ margin lending rates are the second-lowest in the industry after Interactive Brokers. It charges a uniform margin lending rate of 2.5% on the margin debt. Robinhood offers fractional trading which helps new traders to become stockholders of large-scale organizations like Amazon and Google with less investable capital.

Robinhood also offers one promo stock worth $3 to $225; the new users would become eligible to claim the free stock immediately after their registration with Robinhood’s trading platform is approved. Robinhood offers several stock trading tutorials to new traders. It also offers charting indicators, drawing tools, and expert reviews free of cost.

Interactive Brokers

IBKR Review

Interactive Brokers has been in the market as a stockbroker for the last few decades. It is a reliable and commission-free stock broker that facilitates trading on stocks, options, cryptocurrencies, and ETFs. It offers trading services through two accounts which include IBKR LIte and IBKR Pro. Interactive Brokers launched IBKR Lite in 2019 to offer commission-free trading. This trader is popular for giving access to 26,000 mutual funds worldwide. One can use the Interactive Brokers trading platform to invest money in fixed income assets too.

Novice investors love to use Interactive Brokers for its mutual funds' replicator that identifies low-cost ETFs. Interactive Brokers also offer automated portfolio management services. Interactive advisors help investors build a recession-proof portfolio after considering various factors such as investor’s risk appetite, long-term goals, and the monthly investable amount. However, Interactive Brokers charge an annual management fee of 0.12% to build and monitor portfolios.

Experienced traders would like to stay with Interactive Brokers because of its lowest margin lending rates. The margin lending rate of this stockbroker for an amount higher than $3.5 million is 0.86%. However, the margin lending rate goes up to 1.59% if the margin amount is less than $25,000.