the stock market is not a place you can visit but refers to the trading some physical most online of shares representing the partial owning of companies it s not only where businesses raise capital but is used as a sign of the economy s health 
the price of stocks changes based on supply and demand the company s performance economic conditions and other factors that might not seem rational like investor sentiment but all of which must be considered if you re buying or selling shares people purchase stocks for a lot of reasons some hold onto stocks looking for income from dividends others might think a stock will rise so they snap it up trying to buy low and sell high still others might be interested in having a say in how particular companies are run that s because you can vote at shareholder meetings based on the number of shares you own both stock market and stock exchange are often used interchangeably but they re not the same traders in the stock market buy or sell shares on one or more stock exchanges which are only part of the overall stock market the major u s stock exchanges include the new york stock exchange nyse and nasdaq ellen lindner investopedia