Most explanations of what is the share market start with history and regulatory structure before ever answering the actual question. Here’s the short version: it’s a marketplace where ownership stakes in public companies are bought and sold, with prices set continuously by whatever buyers and sellers agree to at any given moment — everything else is detail on top of that one mechanism.
The core terms worth actually understanding
The overall marketplace (in Australia, primarily the ASX) where shares in public companies are traded.
Another word for shares — “what are equities in the stock market” is really just asking what shares represent: part-ownership of a company.
Shares in a large, well-established, financially stable company — generally lower volatility than smaller or newer listings.
The brokerage account used to place buy and sell orders — separate from a regular bank account, linked to it for funding.
A portion of a company’s profit paid out to shareholders, usually a few times a year — not every company pays one, and the amount isn’t guaranteed.
A “bull market” describes a sustained period of rising prices; a “bear market” describes a sustained period of falling prices, typically a drop of 20% or more from a recent high.
How does share trading work, step by step
You place an order
Through a trading account, specifying the company, quantity, and order type.
The exchange matches it
Your order is matched against someone else’s opposite order at an agreed price.
The trade executes
Ownership changes hands at that price, visible almost instantly in your account.
Settlement follows
The formal transfer and payment typically completes within two business days (T+2).
“Trading stock” sometimes refers to a business accounting term (inventory held for sale) in a completely different context — unrelated to buying shares. If a search result suddenly talks about GST or inventory accounting, that’s the other meaning, not share trading.
Why the share market moves the way it does
Prices on the share market aren’t set by any single authority — they’re the running result of millions of individual decisions to buy or sell, each one reflecting a view about a company’s future profits, interest rates, or simply how much cash is available looking for somewhere to go. That’s why the same piece of news can push a price up one week and down the next: it’s not the news itself that moves the market, it’s how it changes what buyers and sellers collectively believe right now.
This is also why bull and bear markets don’t follow a fixed schedule. A bull market can run for years when confidence and earnings are both rising, while a bear market can arrive quickly when either one breaks down. Neither state is permanent, and historically, the share market has spent more time rising than falling over any sufficiently long period — part of why “time in the market” is repeated so often in beginner guides, including this one.
None of this means short-term moves are predictable; it means the underlying mechanism is simpler than it looks once you stop trying to explain every daily move and instead focus on the handful of concepts — equities, blue chip stocks, dividends, and the bull/bear cycle — that actually describe what’s happening underneath the noise.
Where to go deeper once the basics click
Once the core mechanism makes sense, the more useful next questions become practical ones — which account to use, which products fit your goals, and how much to start with:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the share market in simple terms?
A marketplace where shares, representing part-ownership of public companies, are bought and sold, with prices set by ongoing supply and demand rather than a fixed value.
What is a blue chip stock?
Shares in a large, financially established, well-known company with a long track record — generally considered lower risk than smaller, newer companies.
How does share trading actually work?
You place a buy or sell order through a trading account, the exchange matches it with an opposing order, the trade executes at an agreed price, and settlement completes shortly after.
What’s the difference between the share market and a trading account?
The share market is the overall marketplace where trading happens; a trading account is the specific account you personally use to place orders into that marketplace.
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