The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may not get back the full amount you invest. Eligibility criteria, fees and charges apply.
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What causes stock market fluctuations
Supply and demand OpenClose
Supply and demand
Put simply, if demand for a stock is high, more people want to buy it and the price increases, and if demand is low, the price drops. These price fluctuations are influenced and determined by the perceptions of investors. They monitor and follow the performance of companies and look at how much they’re earning, their actual value and how they might perform in the future. But there are also other factors at play when investors are assessing the values of company shares.
Uncertainty OpenClose
Uncertainty
Anything that affects the confidence of investors and causes them to sell their investments can make the market fall. These could be political events, like Brexit, changes of governments or instability because of conflict. And when investors are uncertain, the markets tend to swing up and down more dramatically and more regularly.
Confidence OpenClose
Confidence
On the other hand, if investors are confident, they’ll invest more and sell less, which means less volatility, and this usually pushes prices up.