Equity is a part of a company, also known as stock or share. When you buy shares of a company, you basically own a part of that company. A company's stockholders or shareholders all have equity in the company, or own a fractional portion of the whole company. They buy the shares because they expect to profit when the company profits.

Investing in shares offers many benefits over other asset classes like a high level of liquidity which gives you ready access to your money. There are over 6000 companies listed on the stock market in which you can buy shares, so there are plenty to choose from to match your investment needs.

A. Bid: This represents the highest price a prospective buyer is willing to pay for a stock.
B. Offer (Ask): This represents the lowest price a prospective seller is willing to accept for a stock.
C. Market Order: An order to buy or sell a specified number of shares at the best available price at the time the order is received on the exchange floor. All orders not bearing a specific price are usually considered "at the market" which could mean paying the "offer" when buying or accepting the "bid" when selling.
D. Limit Order: An order for which you request a specific price at which the transaction may be executed.
E. Stop Loss Orders: Orders to buy or sell that are placed above or below the current market price, which become active orders when the price of a board lot rises or falls to the specified price. These orders may be placed to execute at the market, at a specified limit or within a specified price range. A stop buy order can be used to protect against losses in a short sale, whereas a stop loss order can be used to protect a paper profit or to limit a possible loss when you already own the shares. Not all stock exchanges will accept these orders. Stop buy and stop loss orders are risky because they may not necessarily fill at the specified price but at the best possible price available at that time. 

The term ‘Derivative’ indicates that it has no independent value. Its value is entirely ‘derived’ from the value of its underlying asset. The underlying asset can be securities, commodities, bullion, currency, livestock, etc. In other words, Derivative means a forward, future, option or any other hybrid contract of pre-determined duration, which is linked for the purpose of contract fulfilment to the value of a specified real or financial asset.

Futures Contract means a legally binding agreement to buy or sell the underlying security on a future date. Future contracts are the organised/standardised contracts in terms of quantity, quality (in case of commodities), delivery time and place for settlement on any date in future. The contract expires on a pre-mentioned date which is called the expiry date of the contract. On expiry, futures can be settled by delivering the underlying asset or cash. Cash settlement enables the settlement of obligations arising out of the future/option contract in cash.

Options Contract is a type of contract which gives the buyer/holder of the contract the right (not the obligation) to buy/sell the underlying asset at a pre-determined price within or at the end of a specified period. The buyer / holder of the option purchases the right from the seller/writer for a consideration which is called a Premium. The seller/writer of an option is obligated to settle the option as per the terms of the contract when the buyer/holder exercises his right. The underlying assets are the same as in a futures contract. An Option to buy is called Call option and option to sell is called Put option. Further, if an option that is exercisable on or before the expiry date is called American option and one that is exercisable only on expiry date, is called European option. The price at which the option is to be exercised is called Strike price or Exercise price.