Major Stock Exchanges
| Exchange | Location | Known For |
|---|
| NYSE | New York | Largest by market cap — blue chips, traditional companies |
| NASDAQ | New York (electronic) | Tech-heavy — Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon |
| LSE | London | European and international listings |
| TSE | Tokyo | Japanese and Asian companies |
Key Indices
| Index | Tracks |
|---|
| S&P 500 | 500 largest US companies — the benchmark |
| Dow Jones | 30 large US industrial companies — oldest index |
| NASDAQ Composite | All stocks on NASDAQ — tech-heavy |
| Russell 2000 | Small-cap US companies |
Order Types
| Order | What It Does |
|---|
| Market Order | Buy/sell immediately at current best price — fastest, no price control |
| Limit Order | Buy at maximum price (or sell at minimum) — may not execute |
| Stop Loss | Sell automatically if price drops to X — limits downside |
Market Timing Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Bull Market | Prices rising — optimism, growth. Avg duration: ~4 years. |
| Bear Market | Prices falling 20%+ from highs — pessimism. Avg duration: ~10 months. |
| Correction | Drop of 10-20% — happens ~once/year on average |
Pro Tip: Time in the market beats timing the market. If you invested $10K in the S&P 500 in 2003 and left it, you'd have ~$60K today. If you missed just the 10 best days, you'd have ~$30K. You can't predict those days — stay invested.