“Stock Market” is a term that is used to refer both to the physical location for buying and selling stocks, and to the overall activity of the market within a certain country. When you hear “The stock market was down today,” it refers to the combined activity of many stock exchanges.
The major exchanges in the US are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the American Stock Exchange (Amex), and NASDAQ.
The correct term for the physical location for trading stocks is the “Stock Exchange.” A country may have many different stock exchanges. Usually a particular company’s stocks are traded on only 1 exchange, although large corporations may be listed in several.
Investing Around The World
There are stock exchanges located throughout the world, and it is possible to buy or sell stocks on any of them. The only restriction is the oparating hours of each exchange. Both the NYSE and NASDAQ, for example, operate from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
Other exchanges have similar opening hours based on their local time. When you trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, your order will be...