Equity Trading
The process of equity trading involves buying and selling of shares. Some of the major stock exchanges such as New York Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange serve as the main locations where the shares in large publicly traded companies are bought and sold. These stock exchanges serve as managed auctions for stock trades. In the case of smaller public companies, their shares are bought and sold in over-the-counter (OTC).
Commodities Trading
There are two distinct categories called soft commodities and hard commodities in commodity trading. Mainly they involve primary products that are raw nature instead of manufactured products. The trading in commodity markets usually involves agricultural products such as wheat, coffee, cocoa and sugar which are soft commodities. Hard commodities such as gold, rubber, oil etc. are also traded. One of the oldest ways of investing in the commodities market is through future contracts where the futures are secured by physical assets.
Currency Trading
One of the most lucrative trading methods today is currency trading also known as forex trading. More than 5 trillion dollars’ worth of trading is done on a daily basis making it the largest market in the world in terms of volume of trading. As different countries have different currencies and different time zones, forex trading takes place 24/7 except weekends. The main trading centers for currency trading are New York and London, but in recent years even Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong have become important centers.