We all heard about the Stock Market. There’s no doubt in it. However, you still have no idea about it. You saw the charts, we have candle moving up and down. You heard so-called many HYPOCRITICAL or INCORRECT things about Stock Market.
So let’s begin with simple things first, now which we all have the question in the mind. In this guide, I made a beginner guide to Indian Stock Market.
What Is Stock Market?
It is a market of stocks and this is obvious right. Stocks or Shares are the Equity Ownership which is considered as a financial asset and it makes you a part of the company, therefore, you will also be a part of their business profits and losses.
In simple words, the shares of a company is traded between the buyers and sellers like you and me in a stock market.
Therefore, this is a market of stocks or shares often called “Stock Market”.
You buy and sell shares of the thousands of companies in this market. Every country have their own Stock Market.
As we are based in India, we have TWO exchanges (Stock Market) that deals with all different companies' shares transactions.
What is exchange you might ask?
A stock exchange is itself a marketplace and you don’t need to get confused. Both exchanges deal with companies shares.
There is no difference between the exchanges except the liquidity and a very slight difference in the prices.
Major Stock Exchanges In India
- NSE (National Stock Exchange)
- BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange)
Don’t get confused, both does the same job. Both of them are the crucial part of the Indian Financial Market. It doesn’t matter from which exchange your shares are transacted from.
How Should I Start Trading? Buying/Selling Shares
It is fairly simple to buy and sell shares in the Stock Market. First, we will quickly take a look at the things we will need before you can Buy & Sell shares in the Indian Stock Market.
The first thing you will need to buy and sell is a broker. Keep in mind, that without a broker, you cannot access the market directly. You just can’t call NSE and tell them to buy shares for you, it is all done with a broker.
Between a Stock Exchange and You, comes a BROKER.
Now don’t get stressed here, getting a broker now is easy job! Before getting to open an Account for yourself with the BROKER, you will need to gather few things.
You Need:
- Aadhar Card (Linked with your mobile number)
- PAN Card
- Your age above or 18
- Pen/Pencil with Paper to write on (For KYC Purposes)
- Working Webcam or a Laptop with Webcam
- Canceled Cheque or Bank Statement (For Segments Activation)
Gathered all? Well, done! Now let’s discuss the best brokers out there. Getting an account with a Broker is like a Bank Account but it doesn’t store “Money”. It stores “Shares” of companies you are willing to buy. Further in this post, I will give an idea of how to invest in stocks.
This account also have a name, and it is called “DEMAT ACCOUNT” instead of a “BANK ACCOUNT”.
Recommended & Beginner Friendly: UPSTOX Open Account
Note: If you open an account with above link, then you get the following benefits
- Free Demat & Trading Account (No opening charges)
- No brokerage charges for the first 30 days of buying & selling.
- A single platform or App (Upstox) for buying shares, ETFs, GOLD, IPOs, & Mutual Funds.
I highly recommend the broker called “Upstox” for beginners. As a beginner, you have no idea about the Stock Market right? You still have more to learn about it and you are not willing to pay the amount to open an account. Here’s when Upstox comes in, it is FREE TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT.
I personally love the UI of Upstox which is clean and very good looking. I never got hang in between of trades on Upstox like for instance on Exiting or Entering the trade.
There is no hidden charges on Upstox and everything is mentioned by them,
- Free delivery trades, i.e, buying and keeping stocks on hold.
- For Day Trading Stocks or Futures/Options, a flat Rs20 per trade
Another Very Popular & Great Discount Broker: ZERODHA Open Account
This is another broker and it is quite popular among many Indians and this is the reason it is the Number 1 broker in India. The great thing about this broker is the much more simplified trading platform called “Kite” (made for Android/iOS).
It has clean looks and everything is simplified. However, they charge you a flat Rs 200 for account opening.
Overall, both of them are quick and efficient. They both are good in their own ways however, many people here prefer Zerodha over Upstox due to their personal reasons.
I personally use both of the brokers for investing in stocks.
Once you created your DEMAT account, it takes around 24 hours to get your Login ID & Password, before you can login on the respective trading terminals.
Some Basics of Stock Market
This is a huge topic and there are plenty of things for me to explain however, I will explain you some of the basic of stock market to give you the idea of how everything works.
Why do you think investing in stock market is a good idea?
Investing a crucial part of one’s life. Everyone wants to grow their wealth over time. Investing in stock market is the easiest way to be part of a big businesses out there and also grow your money over time as the company grows.
Sounds cool right?
However, there is always a risk involved in the Stock Market. It is not just buying low and selling high kind of thing.
[Example] A Beginner Guide To Indian Stock Market
Let me give you a quick example,
Everyone knows 50-50 Maska Chaska Biscuits by Britannia right? If not, see below.
Ever wondered, whoever makes this biscuits and sell them are making tons of money because you have seen the little kids to grown up adults buying this tasty snacks every time.
What if you want to be a part of this companies profit now?
You can choose companies to invest in as simple as this. You know the biscuit consumption will grow and grow. Britannia is also not limited to just 50-50 and they have many types of biscuits.
Now for becoming a part of Britannia company, you need to buy and hold the shares of this company “BRITANNIA” which is currently trading at a price of Rs 3,590 at the time of writing this post.
Let’s say, I really liked how their biscuits are and how crazy the people are about it such that they keep buying all their biscuits every time.
I can easily say their growth over time in say, 3 years or 5 years or maybe 10 years.
I noticed this biscuit after I came to India in 2017, and I decided to be a part of the biscuit company by buying this company’s shares as I strongly believe by seeing their demand and supply and the marketing of their biscuits can give this company much more profits in the coming years.
I will go ahead, open my DEMAT account, and buy the shares of “BRITANNIA” in 2017 January at the price of Rs 1447 per share. Let’s say I bought 100 shares worth Rs 1,44,700.
In short, I invested Rs 1,44,700 into this biscuit company Britannia hoping that they will do well and expand their business in coming years.
Fast forward to 2020, around 4 years. The price of Britannia Shares are Rs 3,950 as they grew as expected. The share price also went high.
Now, in 2020, my Rs 1,44,700 turns into Rs 3,95,000
Here’s a quick look at my returns of investment.
Return on Investment After 4 Years From Britannia
How Much Long Can You Hold Shares?
As I said, when you create a DEMAT account, it is like a bank account for your Shares.
All the shares will be stored in the DEMAT account which you can keep track on the share price and the Profit & Loss.
To get an idea, I shared screenshot from my both DEMAT accounts, i.e, Upstox & Zerodha
UPSTOX P&L
ZERODHA P&L
Above, you can clearly see the holdings I have. The shares you bought are credited in your account and is visible under “Portfolio” where you will be able to track.
As you can see, you can get either losses or the profits but it is entirely up to you on how you pick companies by predicting their perfomance by doing a quick fundamental analysis of the company you’re planning to invest.
What Shares Should I Buy?
Before buying any shares of the company, it is obvious that you need to know about the company and what it does. You can read more about the analyzing company and deciding if it’s for you or not.
Read this: How To Pick Stocks For Trading Or Holding?
Pro Tips:
- As it is a beginner guide to Indian Stock Market, so if you’re a beginner then never invest in whatever companies you see. At least, visit Screener or TickerTape for analyzing the company. TickerTape is a good platform that shows you a lot of information about the company that can help you in deciding whether to invest in a company or not. It also gives quick insights into the company, as shown below
- If you don’t want to loose much money or want to invest in much safer way, try to stick with well known companies and invest in them to hold longer. There is no easy money, neither the companies are going to grow 2x faster. Hold the shares for the future, make a goal.
Wrapping Up!
As you have now gone through my beginner guide to Indian stock market, you get a pretty basic idea of why Investing is a good idea and how it can generate profits for you over time and the best thing is you get a very good return on investments.