How to Get Started in the Stock Market

Start by doing some basic research into the stock market. Answer long standing questions you may have such as; what is the stock market, or how do you make money in the stock market. You should be working with a solid foundation of knowledge before you attempt to dabble in the market.
Read a financial newspaper such as the 'New York Times' stock section or the 'Wall Street Journal' to learn more about what is happening currently in the market. Stay updated on financial news every day.
Pick five stocks to follow and analyze their trends over the past four or five years. Utilize the Internet as a research to help you track their progress. Create a flow chart with information regarding those particular companies net inflow and outflow and try and distinguish trends amongst the various fluctuations in income production.
Play a virtual stock market game on the computer. Check into various online stock market games as they are a great primer to playing the actual market. Engage in the virtual market for a while before starting on an actual investment opportunities.
Decide what you want to invest in the market for; perhaps you are saving for your future, a house, a new car, or to amass a larger net worth. Determine your risk tolerance and how much fluctuation you can handle without getting nervous to pick on an adequate stock. For beginning investors, mutual funds are usually the safest and least anxiety provoking.
Figure out where you will get the funds to invest in the market and set aside anywhere from $500 at first to buy a few shares of the stock you've chosen. Find a reputable stock broker to help you buy and sell your shares of stocks. With your new knowledge, you might not need a full service broker but for beginners it is often recommended.

How to Read the Wall Street Journal Stock Report

Check the indexes. The beginning of the market report tells the movement of the major indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrials or NASDAQ.
Understand why the indexes are important. When checking out your stock you should know what size the company is, and what market it is sold in. The DOW is primarily larger companies compared to the Russell that is smaller companies. You can tell whether your stock is going up and down with market movement or whether it is moving due to a change specific to the company by knowing what index to follow.
Find the symbol for the stock. Beside it will be the opening price for the day. There is also a listing for the high of the day, sometimes the high was held for only one purchase and can be deceptive; the low, and finally the close of the day price.
Check for the change in cost for the day, followed by the per cent change. If your stock was $1a share when the market opened and it was $1.06 when the market closed; then it went up 6 cents. The percentage growth would be 6 oer cent.
Find the volume of trading. This number tells how active the stock is. The larger the number, the more actively traded. If a stock is seldom traded, and you own it and want to sell, it may be harder to sell it for the market price. Next to the volume is 52 week high and low. This is the highest reported price for the stock and the lowest in a 52 week period.
Realize that the next two columns are important in understanding what return you're actually getting. The first shows any dividends that are received from the stock and the second shows the per cent of return that it is. The dividend is a distribution of profit from the company and should be considered in the return besides using the capital gain or loss.
Understand that the PE is a ratio of the price of the stock to its earnings. The final column shows what per cent the stock has gained over the last year.

How to Sell the Stock Certificates of Deceased Persons

Determine whether you have legally inherited the stock certificates. If the stock certificates were granted to you by will, you will have to wait for the probate court to process the will. The probate process may take several months to more than a year. If the stock certificates were granted via a trust, the trustee of the trust will send the certificates to you, usually fairly soon after the death. Just as with probate, if the certificates pass to you by intestate succession, it will take many months or years to receive the certificates.
Review the stock certificates to determine if they need to be re-titled in your name. If the certificates contain language requiring re-titling, follow the instructions on the certificate. This often involves sending the certificate to the company with a copy of the estate document transferring the stock.
Contact a stockbroker or brokerage company to sell the stock. Make sure the certificates can be sold and that there is a market for the stock. Stock certificates in the electronic age are uncommon, and certificates are often only used for private and small companies. This sort of stock is often difficult to sell. Send the stock certificates to the stockbroker or company. If the certificates were not re-titled in your name, also transmit the estate document that transferred the stock to you.
Instruct the broker to sell your stock. The stock will usually be converted to electronic shares and sold the next trading day on the stock market.