During working hours of the stock exchange they generate and display latest price list of the shares which is stock quote. During trading hours the price feed that is circulated may be real time or delayed one depending on the place and type of exchange you are dealing with. There is a simple economics behind prices of the stock that is demand and supply.
The price quote of a particular stock is supply and buyer dependent as to how many and how much people are selling and how many are demanding. When number of buyers is more and supply of a particular stock is less in a market the price of that stock is sure to rise. The higher selling prices of a stock actually attracts buyer into the market and cause exit of a seller this process brings in equilibrium in the stock market.
In most of the exchanges stock trading has become online and real time as it is not possible for all the people to be at the one place for physical transactions. Trading and settlement without paper is what we have got as result of online trading. Modern websites owned by brokers provide real time stock quote to their buyers and sellers which in turn gives high level of demand and supply in the stock market. The rate of real time online quotes is 99% which enables buyers, sellers to trade from remotest locations of the country. The latest online technology in the industry of stock trading has helped many companies list their stock on various national and international exchanges at the same time and help people trade from the remote locations.
Fraction was the previous way of quoting share and equity prices and decimal is the new way of quoting stock pricing. Generally a price list or quote from an exchange comprises of bid, last price and asking price of that particular stock.
The 52 week information of highs and lows of a stock provided by the brokers and exchange certainly influence traders’ decision of buying or selling of a crucial stock. It is recommended that the time stamp should be consulted when checking stock quote on various financial websites.