The Stockmarket
The stockmarket is a marketplace that provides an alternative for companies to raise funds for their business expansion. It is also the place where investors can invest their money by buying the shares of the public-listed companies. By buying a share, you are buying a claim on a company’s asset. By buying a share, you become a shareholder and you have a right to the dividends when they are declared and also to vote at general meetings.

1.	Capital gains which is the difference between the buying and selling price
2.	Interim and final dividends as declared by the company.

To invest in shares, you don’t need to be highly intelligent. You need to do your homework, and be disciplined to do your homework. You can get lots of information from the stockbrokers, from KLSE and even the financial news in the daily newspapers. There is sufficient information available for free or at a cheap price for you to make informed decisions.

1.	Fundamental analysis looks at the qualitative and quantitative fundamentals of the company, its financial statements, the country’s economics and political situations.
2.	Technical analysis studies price movements using charts to predict the future price movements.

The basic mantra of investing in the stock market is, “Buy low, sell high.” You also need to have a systematic approach and learn to cut your losses. Some people hold on to their shares believing that the price will eventually move up – well, they may not and after 10 years, you may be still holding to a share that has dropped way below the price you had bought. When your stocks are falling in price, cut your losses and sell them off.

The performance of the stock market is a result of the interplay of various factors that work to influence the price of the stocks. The various factors include:

• Economic and political environment
• Monetary policy
• Exchange rate movement
• Interest rates
• Global economic and political developments.