Topic 6
Financial markets: how they work
The mechanics layer — the plumbing under every quote, order and index number.
- 1What a Financial Market Is7 min read
- 2Primary vs Secondary Markets: Where Securities Are Born and Where They Live7 min read
- 3Exchanges vs OTC: Two Ways to Organise a Market8 min read
- 4The Lifecycle of a Trade: From Tap to Settled Ownership8 min read
- 5Market Hours and Sessions: When Markets Trade, and Why It Matters7 min read
- 6Clearing and Settlement: The Plumbing That Makes Trades Real8 min read
- 7Market Liquidity and Depth: How Much the Market Can Absorb8 min read
- 8The Bid-Ask Spread: The Price of Immediacy7 min read
- 9Market Makers and Liquidity Provision: Who Quotes the Prices, and Why8 min read
- 10Dark Pools and Alternative Trading Systems: The Market's Quieter Rooms7 min read
- 11Market Indices and How They're Built8 min read
- 12Market Capitalisation: What a Company's Price Tag Means — and Doesn't7 min read
- 13Circuit Breakers and Trading Halts: When the Market Presses Pause7 min read