stock exchange question

[poker1O1]

hey, silly question, but I realize the price of a single stock changes every second. My question is, who or what decides the price of this stock every single second?

Martha Stewart

No, Alan Greenspan uses a pattern mapper to do it.

[poker1O1]

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Martha Stewart

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ok seriosly

[ttw22]

Supply and demand. Desperate buyers drive prices up; desperate sellers drive prices down.

[Paluka]

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hey, silly question, but I realize the price of a single stock changes every second. My question is, who or what decides the price of this stock every single second?

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The price of the stock is simply the last price it was bought or sold at. It does not change every second, by the way.

[DesertCat]

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hey, silly question, but I realize the price of a single stock changes every second. My question is, who or what decides the price of this stock every single second?

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The price of the stock is simply the last price it was bought or sold at. It does not change every second, by the way.

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And stocks have "bid" and "ask" prices. The "bid" reflects the highest price any buyer will pay for a share, and the "ask" the lowest price a seller will accept. Typically the ask is higher than the bid, and for most stocks nothing happens for minutes at a time. For smaller, less liquid stocks, sometimes nothing changes for hours, days or even weeks. But eventually some buyer raises his bid price to the ask, or some seller lowers his ask price to the bid, and finally some shares exchange hands. It's just like the miracle of life, only with money...

[poker1O1]

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But eventually some buyer raises his bid price to the ask, or some seller lowers his ask price to the bid, and finally some shares exchange hands.

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Ok, understood. Now, how is the price that we see, for exapmle, a stock chosen. Simple answer is buy a buyer or seller, but which buyer or seller is posting that price? Is it the CFO of a company? More specifically, what buyer is deciding the price of a stock at any given time. And also, do you think there will be a big enough demand for a stock broker in 5-10 years with the convenience of online trading?

[Sniper]

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but which buyer or seller is posting that price? Is it the CFO of a company? More specifically, what buyer is deciding the price of a stock at any given time.

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Stock is freely traded on the open market... price is determined by the buyers and sellers themselves, based on what price they each individually are willing to either buy or sell (and sometimes both).

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And also, do you think there will be a big enough demand for a stock broker in 5-10 years with the convenience of online trading?

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There are significantly fewer stock brokers than there were a few years ago, due to the ease of access to electronic trading and information.

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There are significantly fewer stock brokers than there were a few years ago, due to the ease of access to electronic trading and information.

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Do you have specific numbers on this? I was under the impression that stock brokers have simply developed into financial advisors, selling a wider range of products/services. Also, I believe the high net worth(private bank) business is actually growing.