Shares are traded on organised marketplaces called exchanges. At any moment, some investors want to buy a company and others want to sell, and a trade happens when a buyer and a seller agree on a price. Because opinions and information change constantly, prices move throughout the trading day, rising when buyers are keen and falling when sellers dominate. The last agreed price is what you see quoted as the current price.
How easily you can buy or sell a particular share is known as its liquidity. Large, widely held companies usually trade in high volumes, so you can buy or sell quickly at a price close to the last one. Smaller or less popular companies can be harder to trade, and their prices may jump around more. Most beginners access the market through a broker or investment platform, which places orders on the exchange on their behalf.
It is worth remembering that the quoted price reflects the collective opinion of many buyers and sellers at that moment, not a firm statement of what a company is truly worth. Prices can be driven by news, emotion and short-term events as well as by the underlying health of the business, which is why price and value are not always the same thing.
This content is general information, not investment advice.