There are different indexes in different countries. They have different composition. Knowledge about important indexes provides the holistic picture of the stock market across the globe.

ETF stands for "Exchange Traded Fund". Exchange Traded Funds are Collective Investment schemes. Collective investment schemes are ways of investing money with other people in order to participate in a wider range of investments. Collective investments schemes are usually referred to as Mutual Funds, Managed Funds or simply Funds. These funds account for a large portion of the trading on most stock exchanges.

What exactly is a stock market index? A stock market index is a listing of a group of stocks, and a number to go with them. The number that goes with them is used to track trends in the market, going up or down when the market does. In general the stocks have something in common, such as trading on the same exchange, or belonging to the same industry. The Indexes can be classified in a wide variety of ways. The most widely quoted Index in the world, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is a broad based index designed to reflect the stock market as a whole and give an idea of investor sentiment on the state of the economy.

Wall Street, in the south of Manhattan, was named after the wall the Dutch Settlers built to keep the English settlers and Native Americans out, and themselves in. Why Button wood? In the newly formed country of the United States of America, most investments were in land. Merchants and brokers often traded in coffee houses, if not on the street outside those coffee houses. At that time, in the south of Manhattan, there was a huge button wood tree, (or American Sycamore, as it is more commonly known) outside one of those coffee houses and under which traders and speculators used to met and trade informally. The agreement that began the New York Stock Exchange, was signed under that Button wood tree.

In order to effectively invest your money into stocks of any kind, you must know all of your stock options so that you can efficiently earn money.  Because stocks are simply small shares of a company, the more stocks you purchase to more you own of a certain company.  For example, if you purchase 100,000 stocks in AutoZone, an automotive store, you would have more say in what takes place in the company that someone who only purchases 1,000 shares of AutoZone's stock.  There are two main types of stock in which, you, the investor should become familiar with so that you can properly purchase the stock that is right for you and your monetary situation. 

Perhaps, one of the most commonly known investments, and most successful for that matter, in which people participate on a regular basis is stock trading.  Stock trading empowers people to meet the financial standards and objectives so that the maximum amount of profit can be achieved.  Therefore, it is imperative to have a working knowledge of the stock market and stocks so that you are able to see how they work together to better enhance your investment future.