How to invest in stock exchange.how to join in stock exchange?

TO invest in stock exchange u need not join in a stock exchange....
ull have to open a trading account and a demat account with a stock broker...
before that ill tell u some important things about the investment in there...its important that u know where u r investing...just go thru this, ull have a better idea about them

Stock means :
A type of security that signifies ownership in a corporation and represents a claim on part of the corporation's assets and earnings.

There are two main types of stock: common and preferred. Common stock usually entitles the owner to vote at shareholders' meetings and to receive dividends. Preferred stock generally does not have voting rights, but has a higher claim on assets and earnings than the common shares. For example, owners of preferred stock receive dividends before common shareholders and have priority in the event that a company goes bankrupt and is liquidated.

Also known as "shares" or "equity".

A holder of stock (a shareholder) has a claim to a part of the corporation's assets and earnings. In other words, a shareholder is an owner of a company. Ownership is determined by the number of shares a person owns relative to the number of outstanding shares. For example, if a company has 1,000 shares of stock outstanding and one person owns 100 shares, that person would own and have claim to 10% of the company's assets.

Stocks are the foundation of nearly every portfolio. Historically, they have outperformed most other investments over the long run.

Share means:
Unit of ownership interest in a corporation or financial asset. While owning shares in a business does not mean that the shareholder has direct control over the business's day-to-day operations, being a shareholder does entitle the possessor to an equal distribution in any profits, if any are declared in the form of dividends. The two main types of shares are common shares and preferred shares.

In the past, shareholders received a physical paper stock certificate that indicated that they owned "x" shares in a company. Today, brokerages have electronic records that show ownership details. Owning a "paperless" share makes conducting trades a simpler and more streamlined process, which is a far cry from the days were stock certificates needed to be taken to a brokerage before a trade could be conducted.

While shares are often used to refer to the stock of a corporation, shares can also represent ownership of other classes of financial assets, such as mutual funds.

Equity Means :
1. A stock or any other security representing an ownership interest.

2. On a company's balance sheet, the amount of the funds contributed by the owners (the stockholders) plus the retained earnings (or losses). Also referred to as "shareholders' equity".

3. In the context of margin trading, the value of securities in a margin account minus what has been borrowed from the brokerage.

4. In the context of real estate, the difference between the current market value of the property and the amount the owner still owes on the mortgage. It is the amount that the owner would receive after selling a property and paying off the mortgage.

5. In terms of investment strategies, equity (stocks) is one of the principal asset classes. The other two are fixed-income (bonds) and cash/cash-equivalents. These are used in asset allocation planning to structure a desired risk and return profile for an investor's portfolio.

The term's meaning depends very much on the context. In general, you can think of equity as ownership in any asset after all debts associated with that asset are paid off. For example, a car or house with no outstanding debt is considered the owner's equity because he or she can readily sell the item for cash. Stocks are equity because they represent ownership in a company.
Stock market :
A stock market is a private or public market for the trading of company stock and derivatives of company stock at an agreed price; both of these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.
The expression 'stock market' refers to the system that enables the trading of company stocks (collective shares), other securities, and derivatives. Bonds are still traditionally traded in an informal, over-the-counter market known as the bond market. Commodities are traded in commodities markets, and derivatives are traded in a variety of markets (but, like bonds, mostly 'over-the-counter').
The size of the worldwide 'bond market' is estimated at $45 trillion. The size of the 'stock market' is estimated at about $51 trillion. The world derivatives market has been estimated at about $480 trillion 'face' or nominal value, 30 times the size of the U.S. economyâ€¦and 12 times the size of the entire world economy.[1] It must be noted though that the value of the derivatives market, because it is stated in terms of notional values, cannot be directly compared to a stock or a fixed income security, which traditionally refers to an actual value. (Many such relatively illiquid securities are valued as marked to model, rather than an actual market price.)
The stocks are listed and traded on stock exchanges which are entities (a corporation or mutual organization) specialized in the business of bringing buyers and sellers of stocks and securities together. The stock market in the United States includes the trading of all securities listed on the NYSE, the NASDAQ, the Amex, as well as on the many regional exchanges, e.g. OTCBB and Pink Sheets. European examples of stock exchanges include the Paris Bourse (now part of Euronext), the London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche BÃ¶rse.
Participants in the stock market range from small individual stock investors to large hedge fund traders, who can be based anywhere. Their orders usually end up with a professional at a stock exchange, who executes the order.
Some exchanges are physical locations where transactions are carried out on a trading floor, by a method known as open outcry. This type of auction is used in stock exchanges and commodity exchanges where traders may enter "verbal" bids and offers simultaneously. The other type of exchange is a virtual kind, composed of a network of computers where trades are made electronically via traders.
Actual trades are based on an auction market paradigm where a potential buyer bids a specific price for a stock and a potential seller asks a specific price for the stock. (Buying or selling at market means you will accept any ask price or bid price for the stock, respectively.) When the bid and ask prices match, a sale takes place on a first come first served basis if there are multiple bidders or askers at a given price.
The purpose of a stock exchange is to facilitate the exchange of securities between buyers and sellers, thus providing a marketplace (virtual or real). The exchanges provide real-time trading information on the listed securities, facilitating price discovery

IPO means :
An Initial Public Offering (IPO) --is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. IPOs are often issued by smaller, younger companies seeking capital to expand, but can also be done by large privately-owned companies looking to become publicly traded.

In an IPO, the issuer may obtain the assistance of an underwriting firm, which helps it determine what type of security to issue (common or preferred), best offering price and time to bring it to market.

Trading :
To transact through any stock exchange...u will have to do it through a broker, normally called as stock broker who is a registered member in that exchange.he opens a Trading account for you( through which you buy or sell the shares) and a demat account( which is the De material account where the shares that u bought will be stored in electronic format..as every thing is computerized now..it just acts like a bank account. u use a bank account to put your money..in the same way u use the demat account to keep your shares). after you open these accounts its simple..you call the broker to buy or sell the shares...he will do it on your behalf.this is the traditional way of doing the trading
Now you have got the option of opening a online account where you will be doing the transactions yourself(of course it is also opened by a broker and the transactions are routed to him...he is the one who gives you the software to use)
it will be similar to an email account where u login using your user id and password...after u log in u see a screen..where all the shares are in left hand side and the info like the Last traded price, time, Up n down, Last traded quantity..etc etc will be visible..and u can busy and sell on your choice using . that..its very convenient to use.

Hope this info helps u...
I wish u good luck..
happy investing...!!!!!!!!!!!!!