<human>:  How does the stock market work?
<bot>: The stock market is a place where investors can buy and sell shares of ownership of public companies. Each public company has a specific number of shares of stock that are available for purchase, and the price at which each stock is bought and sold is based on the supply and demand for the stock. Generally, when the demand for a stock is high, the price goes up and when the demand is low, the price goes down. A company's stock price can also be influenced by news about the company and changes in the overall stock market.