Capital Market

Capital market is a market where buyers and sellers engage in trade of financial securities like bonds, stocks, etc. The buying/selling is undertaken by participants such as individuals and institutions.

Description: Capital markets help channelise surplus funds from savers to institutions which then invest them into productive use. Generally, this market trades mostly in long-term securities.

Capital market consists of primary markets and secondary markets. Primary markets deal with trade of new issues of stocks and other securities, whereas secondary market deals with the exchange of existing or previously-issued securities. Another important division in the capital market is made on the basis of the nature of security traded, i.e. stock market and bond market.

Capital Market

1. Securities Market

• Primary Market : IPOs, Book Building, Private Placements.
• Secondary Market : Equity Market, Debt Market, Commodity Market, Futures and Options Market. (Secondary Market can be basically divided into two – spot market and forward market. Forward market has two divisions – futures and options/derivatives. Again, there are two types of options – put option and call option.)

2. Non-Securities Market

• Mutual Funds.
• Fixed Deposits, Savings Deposits, Post Office savings.
• Insurance.

Capital Market is an institutional arrangement for borrowing medium and long-term funds and which provides facilities for marketing and trading of securities. So it constitutes all long-term borrowings from banks and financial institutions, borrowings from foreign markets and raising of capital by issue various securities such as shares, debentures, bonds, etc. The securities market has two different segments namely primary and secondary market.

Primary Market vs Secondary Market : The primary market consists of arrangements for procurement of long-term funds by companies by fresh issue of shares and debentures. The secondary market or stock exchange provides a ready market for existing long term securities. Stock exchange is the secondary market, which provides a place for regular sale and purchase of different types of securities like shares, debentures, bonds & government securities. It is an organised market where all transactions are regulated by the rules and laws of the concerned stock exchanges.

Secondary Markets or Stock Exchanges : The functions of a stock exchanges are to provide ready and continuous market for securities, information about prices and sales, safety to dealings and investment, helps mobilisation of savings and capital formation. It acts as a barometer of economic and business conditions and helps in better allocation of funds. Stock exchanges provide many benefits to companies, investors and the society as a whole. But they also suffer from limitations like exclusive speculation and fluctuation in prices due to rumours and unpredictable events. There are 21 stock exchanges in India presently, including BSE, NSE and OTCEI. Stock Exchanges are regulated by the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act and by SEBI. SEBI has initiated a number of reforms in the primary and secondary market to regulate the stock market. Documentary and procedural requirements for listing and trading have been made stricter and foolproof to protect investors’ interest.

The secondary market has further two components. First, the spot market where securities are traded for immediate delivery and payment. The other is forward market where the securities are traded for future delivery and payment. This forward market is further divided into Futures and Options Market (Derivatives Markets). In futures Market the securities are traded for conditional future delivery whereas in option market, two types of options are traded. A put option gives right but not an obligation to the owner to sell a security to the writer of the option at a predetermined price before a certain date, while a call option gives right but not an obligation to the buyer to purchase a security from the writer of the option at a particular price before a certain date.

Money Market and Capital Market : A comparison