Who Decides the Price of a Stock? Share Market Basics for Beginners | Ep 1

Who decides the price of a stock? Not the company, and not the exchange. Here's the simple answer. In this Short you'll learn how a stock price is actually set, why the price in your trading app changes every second, and whether a big trade or a small trade decides the price. It is Episode 1 of Read Any Chart, a beginner series on how to read stock charts from zero. Watch all episodes in order: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKy7OPmbmPJg IN THIS SHORT - The price of a stock is set by buyers and sellers, not by the company and not by the stock exchange. - One person wants to buy, another wants to sell. When they agree on a price, a trade happens. - The price you see in your app is simply the price of the latest trade. - A moment later, two other people agree on a slightly different price, so the price on your screen changes again. - The size of a trade doesn't set the price. The latest trade does. - But big orders can move the price, because they use up the best available prices first. THE EXAMPLE The last three trades happen at 100, then 101, then 99. What price does your app show? 99, because that was the latest trade. It doesn't matter that the trade at 101 might have been for more shares. The last traded price is what you see. KEY TERMS - Trade: a buyer and a seller agreeing on a price and exchanging shares. - Last traded price (LTP): the price of the most recent trade. This is the number your app shows. - Buyer and seller: every trade has exactly one of each side, so there is never a trade with only buyers. - Order: an instruction to buy or sell a number of shares at a price. COMMON QUESTIONS Does the company set its own share price? No. Once shares trade on an exchange, the price comes from trades between investors. Does the stock exchange set the price? No. The exchange runs the marketplace and matches orders, but buyers and sellers decide the prices they trade at. Why does the price change every second? Because new trades keep happening, and eac

Added 20 Oct 2026