Learning path 1 of 9
Stock market foundations
Start from zero. Learn what shares are, how exchanges and brokers work, how buying and selling happens, and the risks involved.
29 lessons in this path. Progress is saved in your browser as you go.
This is where everyone should begin, whatever they have heard about the stock market from friends, news channels or social media.
You will learn what a share actually is, why companies sell them, and how millions of people can buy and sell them every day through a stock exchange. You will meet the institutions that keep the system working, such as SEBI, brokers and depositories, and you will learn the vocabulary that every later lesson uses: orders, spreads, indices, market capitalisation, bull and bear markets.
The path ends with an honest look at risk. Shares can make money over time, and they can also lose a lot of it. Knowing why, before you put in a single rupee, is the most useful thing this path can give you.
Who this path is for
Complete beginners, students, and anyone who has opened a trading app without being sure how it all works. No knowledge of finance or maths beyond percentages is assumed.
What you will be able to do
- Explain in your own words what a share is and what owning one gives you.
- Describe how an order travels from your app through a broker and an exchange to your demat account.
- Tell the difference between the primary market and the secondary market, and between investing and trading.
- Read the basic numbers on a stock quote, including bid, ask, spread and market capitalisation.
- Recognise the main risks of owning shares and the simple habits that reduce them.
Before you start
Nothing. This path assumes no previous knowledge of finance or markets.
The route, module by module
Take the modules in this order. Filled stops are lessons you have completed; dashed stops are still being written.
Module 1Money, risk and return
Why people invest at all, what inflation does to savings, how risk and return are linked, and the percentage and compounding maths later lessons use.
Module 2Shares and why they exist
What the stock market is, why companies sell shares, what a share gives you, how shareholders make or lose money, and what corporate actions change.
Module 3Exchanges, regulators and your accounts
Who runs the market and who protects you in it. Stock exchanges, SEBI, brokers, demat accounts, IPOs and the Nifty 50 and Sensex.
Module 4How buying and selling works
Investing compared with trading, market, limit and stop-loss orders, bid and ask prices, spreads, trading costs and taxes, and market capitalisation.
Module 5Ups, downs and risk
Bull and bear markets, corrections and crashes, circuit breakers and price bands, the maths of losses, and the main risks of owning shares.
Module 6Probability and statistics for investors
Probability and expected value, averages and volatility, correlation and causation, and how numbers and charts can mislead.
Related paths
- Scams, myths and investor protectionHow investment scams work, how to check a claim against official sources, and what to do if you think you have been targeted.
- Financial literacy and accountingRead a company's numbers with confidence. Revenue, profit, cash flow, assets and liabilities, and how the three financial statements fit together.