Asian Stock Markets
- Details
- Category: Stock Market
The stock market is one of the most important sources for companies to raise money. This allows businesses to be publicly traded, or raise additional capital for expansion by selling shares of ownership of the company in a public market. The liquidity that an exchange provides affords investors the ability to quickly and easily sell securities. This is an attractive feature of investing in stocks, compared to other less liquid investments such as real estate.
First of all, there is no single Asian stock market. But here are some examples of Asian stock markets and the time they open. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange opens at 10:00 am, closes at 2:30 pm and re-opens at 4.00 pm, in New York time. The Bombay Stock Exchange opens at 09:55 am. The Tokyo Stock Exchange opens at 09:00 am, closes at 11:00 am, and re-opens at 12:30 pm.
The financial systems in most Asian countries have undergone a remarkable transformation. One feature of this development is disintermediation. A portion of the funds involved in saving and financing, flows directly to the financial markets instead of being routed via the traditional bank lending and deposit operations. The general public's heightened interest in investing in the stock market, either directly or through mutual funds, has been an important component of this process.
Riskier long-term saving requires that an individual possess the ability to manage the associated increased risks. Stock prices fluctuate widely, in marked contrast to the stability of (government insured) bank deposits or bonds. This is something that could affect not only the individual investor or household, but also the economy on a large scale. The following deals with some of the risks of the financial sector in general and the stock market in particular. This is certainly more important now that so many newcomers have entered the stock market, or have acquired other 'risky' investments (such as 'investment' property, i.e., real estate and collectables).
