Financial Market

In economics, a financial market is a mechanism that allows people to easily buy and sell (trade) financial securities (such as stocks and bonds), commodities (such as precious metals or agricultural goods), and other fungible items of value at low transaction costs and at prices that reflect the efficient market hypothesis.
Financial markets have evolved significantly over several hundred years and are undergoing constant innovation to improve liquidity.
Both general markets (where many commodities are traded) and specialized markets (where only one commodity is traded) exist. Markets work by placing many interested buyers and sellers in one "place", thus making it easier for them to find each other. An economy which relies primarily on interactions between buyers and sellers to allocate resources is known as a market economy in contrast either to a command economy or to a non-market economy such as a gift economy.

The financial markets can be divided into different subtypes:
Capital markets which consist of:
Stock markets, which provide financing through the issuance of shares or common stock, and enable the subsequent trading thereof.
Bond markets, which provide financing through the issuance of Bonds, and enable the subsequent trading thereof.
Commodity markets, which facilitate the trading of commodities.
Money markets, which provide short term debt financing and investment.
Derivatives markets, which provide instruments for the management of financial risk.
Futures markets, which provide standardized forward contracts for trading products at some future date; see also forward market.
Insurance markets, which facilitate the redistribution of various risks.
Foreign exchange markets, which facilitate the trading of foreign exchange.