Securities, Market Functions, and Performance Evaluation
This week you will provide an overview of the stock market and evaluate its past performance. Your discussion should include:
General
The structure of the stock market and how it operates
How transactions are conducted in the stock market
Securities that could be bought or sold in the stock market
Other available financial instruments besides stocks
Evaluation of Overall Stock Market Performance Using the Main Indexes:
Compare and contrast the three major stock market indexes (i.e. Dow Jones Industrial Average, SP 500, and NASDAQ Composite).
Graph the performance of indexes from 1996 to present.
Analyze the trends and explain the major events from 1996.
Discuss the overall economic outlook and analysts’ forecast of the stock market.
What are the factors that affect how the stock market performs?
Where do you see the stock market going over the next three months? One year? Three years?
