Q.What is a Stock Exchange? Explain its functions.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →A stock exchange is an organised and regulated secondary market for buying and selling existing securities. Its chief functions are providing liquidity (a ready market), fair price evaluation, safety of dealings, mobilising savings for capital formation, encouraging an equity culture and acting as an economic barometer.
Meaning
A stock exchange is an organised, regulated marketplace where securities that have already been issued — equity shares, preference shares, debentures, bonds and government securities — are purchased and sold. It is the heart of the secondary market: it does not create new securities but gives investors a place to transfer existing ones. In India stock exchanges (such as the BSE and NSE) operate under the supervision of SEBI. This is a core topic for TS Inter 2nd-year Commerce, and the TS commerce syllabus here aligns closely with the NCERT/CBSE commerce curriculum on financial markets.
Functions of a Stock Exchange
- Ready and continuous market (liquidity). It provides investors a place to convert their securities into cash quickly and to invest cash in securities at any time, giving holdings high liquidity.
- Pricing / evaluation of securities. Through the continuous interaction of demand and supply, the exchange arrives at a fair market price for each security and publishes quotations, helping investors value their holdings.
- Safety of transactions. Dealings are confined to listed securities and members work within strict rules and SEBI regulation, which protects investors from fraudulent practices.
- Mobilisation of savings and capital formation. By offering a safe and liquid market, it encourages people to save and invest; these savings are routed to companies and thus support capital formation and economic growth.
- Aids in economic development. It channels idle savings into the most productive and profitable enterprises, ensuring efficient allocation of a nation's capital. …
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