Equity Trading : What Does It Mean?

Introduction

Equity trading meaning: Equity trading means buying and selling the shares or stocks of a company. Equities are portions of ownership of the public listed companies. Equities are a primary asset class, offering different levels of return and helping you diversify your investment portfolio. To trade inequities, one would require a Demat Account and a trading account. 

Once you have both these accounts, you can then use them for the stocks available on the stock exchanges. You will have to offer a specific price while making the bid. If the price quoted by you matches the price asked by the seller, the trade will be successful. You will get the asset you placed your bid for. If more than one investor bids on the same stock, the first bidder gets the stock allocated against his name. 

The buying and selling of this take place in the equity market. It is otherwise popularly known as the stock market or share market. It is a platform for investing in the stocks of various companies. They are primarily issued to raise money to meet the miscellaneous expenses. It can expand the business in new regions or launch new products. When one buys equities, they receive the right over a portion of that company. It entitles the investor to get a share of the profits accrued by the company. 

The returns from investing in equities can come in two different forms. These are dividends and capital growth. Investors generally get the dividends paid to them twice a year. Dividends are the distribution of profit that a company makes in a financial year. Usually, the more profitable a company becomes, the higher the dividend payouts received by the investors. The shareholders can also profit by selling their shares higher than they bought. It is known as capital growth or appreciation.

Trading in equities can bring immense amounts of returns for the traders. However, it is crucial to note that the prices of equities can also go down. It can result in losses for the traders or investors. It is essential to keep certain things in mind before starting equity trading. 

1. Do not follow what everyone else is doing without putting your thoughts. It is possible to imitate others, especially in sign-ups and downs in the market. As a trader, you need to fix your objectives and apply strategies to help you achieve them. The goals of every trader can be different, so what might work for others may not do it for you.
2. Conduct your research about the organization before finalizing trade in its equities. It includes looking at the past performance, its income statements, and balance sheets, among a few others. Equity traders generally use two kinds of techniques to assess a company. These are fundamental analysis and technical analysis. Fundamental analysis includes evaluating the company's financial position to determine whether it is an excellent option to invest in or not. Technical analysis takes into account the statistics, volume, and past data.
3. If you plan to invest in equity long-term, patience is vital. You should show enough restraint while there is price speculation in the market. Make sure you only sell the equities you hold after a proper analysis of the situation and the company's performance. 
4. Many investors lose heavily while trading as they let their feelings over their judgment. While trading in a bull market, one often follows the trend and keeps on buying. It ends up in betting on the wrong investment avenues. You should always be careful and control your instincts in such crunch situations. 
5. Some people fall into debt because they invest most of their funds in equity trading. It is a wrong strategy, and one should always utilize the surplus funds lying with them for equity share trading.

Trading Equities vs. Forex Trading

Equity share trading consists of buying and selling equities on stock market full stock Forex trading, which involves the exchange of currency pairs from different nations. Forex rates or currency prices depend on economic factors like inflation, interest rates, the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth, and debts. Whereas stock prices primarily depend on the underlying businesses' earnings growth and business potential. However, economic factors such as inflation and interest rates can also affect the overall equity market. 

Both the forex markets and the stock markets are liquid markets. That means it is easy to find buyers and sellers to carry out smooth trades in both markets. Nevertheless, the forex market is more liquid than the equity or stock market, as it is the most liquid market. The forex market is also the biggest financial market in the world. The training hours for equity training are from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM on all trading days in India. In contrast, India's forex market is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Both of these investment assets contain risks; analyzing them holds the key.

Benefits of Equity Trading

Equity share trading can benefit in the following ways.

• The most significant benefit of equity share trading brings the opportunity to make huge profits. Many investors have made significant returns. Equities offer more returns during inflation as compared to other investment options. 
• Equities may be a little riskier than investments like fixed deposits or mutual funds, but they can give better returns. Educating yourself on how to trade effectively can help in making good gains.
• One can invest in equity instruments like futures and options to lower the risks. 
• Investors get steady and recurring incomes as dividends.

The Procedure of Equity Share Trading

Trading

The stock exchanges provide open platforms for buying and selling equities and other securities. The entire process is entirely automatic. 

Settlement and Clearing

The stock exchanges settle the trades which occurred during a day in the t+2 settlement cycle. It is a process where the trader receives the securities and completes the transactions in 2 days. The buyer gets the shares in the Demat Account, and the sellers get the sale proceeds in their respective bank accounts. 

Risk Management

Stock exchanges keep a sound management system to prevent fraudulent activity and protect the investors' interests. These include:

• Margin requirements
• Liquid assets
• Pay-ins
• Voluntary closeouts.

Procedure for Equity Trading

To trade in equities, you would need to follow the following steps.

1. Get the Demat Account and trading accounts opened with a good stockbroker. You can also do this through online brokerage platforms. 

2. log in to access the accounts.

3. Select the stock to trade on the stock exchange at the preferred rate. Once your order gets processed, the trade will be complete. 

4. You will receive notifications on your registered email id and mobile number regarding your transaction details.

Conclusion

Equity trading is a niche in stock trading. It is suitable for aggressive individuals with sound knowledge of trading. Traders need to develop robust strategies to gain big through equity share trading. It must be intricate, and traders should properly consider them before effect. Equity markets offer advantages against inflation and decent returns despite their risk. If one trades smartly, it is possible to make a considerable corpus of funds.