Share Prices
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When investing in shares, your main concern will be share prices, this is because buying when share prices are low and selling when they are high is how you make money. Share prices can be affected by a wide range of factors including:
- The economy: The state of the global economy has a fundamental influence on share prices. This is because the economy is responsible for driving company profits. Generally, if the economy is growing shares prices go up, and if the economy is weakening, company profits will fall and share prices will go down.
- Company news: Investors' interpretations of company news can affect that company's share prices. For example, if a company puts out a warning of tough business conditions, share prices will generally drop. But if a director buys shares in the firm, it could be interpreted as a sign that things are looking up and the share prices will rise.
- Analysts reports: Independent analysts have a significant influence on share prices. For example, if an analyst changes their recommendation from ‘sell’ to ‘buy’ share prices will rise.
- Media: The financial pages of national newspapers and investment magazines usually contain share tips and therefore have a similar affect on share prices as independent analysts do.
- Investor sentiment: Sentiment is a measurement of the mood of a given investor or the overall investing public, which can be either bullish, which means believing that a particular security, a sector, or the overall market is about to rise, or bearish, which means the opposite. Investor sentiment can be affected by a number of factors; for example, share prices may be flat during the summer simply because so many major investors are on holiday.
Share prices can also be affected by investors who use technical analysis i.e. the study of past share price movements, market makers who buy more shares to balance their books, and even the weather.
If you open an online share dealing account you will get share price alerts and be able to deal in real time share prices.
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Please remember the value of your investments and the income from them can go down as well as up. You may not get back the full amount you have invested. If you're in any doubt whether to buy or sell shares, you should consult an appropriate Financial Adviser.