Do you know where your share prices are today?
When it comes to investing, knowing where you are at is a critical part of being profitable. So really have you checked your share prices today?
Most people don't look at their stocks on a daily basis. To be honest most people shouldn't review their stock or mutual fund portfolio on a daily basis. There are some people who should review share prices daily. Even if you only wan too check them out every once in a while, you need to know where to get your share prices today.
Below are a list of places that can provide you with near instant access to your share prices today. Generally speaking they get their information from the same sources. So pick the one you like the format of and use it to check your share prices today.
Remember one key difference between stocks, ETFs and mutual funds. Stocks and ETFs can change price within the day. Mutual funds only change prices at the end of the day. You can check your mutual fund share prices today but don't expect them to change until after the market closes.
Resources to Check Your Share Prices Today
Google Finance - If you want to check your share prices today and get the latest news on a stock, Google provides the same functionality to stock price tracking that their search engine does to finding information on the web. They aren't fancy. They do give you the ability to set up a portfolio, do some basic charting and find out more information about individual stocks. If you own mutual funds, they also provide a breakdown of the top stocks owned by the fund.
They may not be the most polished place to check stock prices today but they do provide a nice utilitarian site. They don't have ads on the page which makes for a cleaner look. Also they do a great job of finding your stock ticker symbol if you only know the company name. Basic but powerful it is a good place to start. It doesn't come with glitz and fancy packaging when you check your share prices today but it does get the job done.
Yahoo Finance Yahoo Finance has been around for a while. They have been the King of the Hill for a while. Their site comes across as more organized but also includes a lot of things that may not be relevant to finding your stock prices today. They include information about loans, interest rates, current stories and top level charts above the fold. To get to your quotes and portfolios you have to scroll down one page. I would prefer it higher up but that's just me.
They do have a more active Message Board than Google. For the most part you won't find anything there other than a good way to waste some time. They may have made sense at one time but public message boards tend to get over run by spammers and trolls. Take any information you get from there or any board with a huge grain of salt.
The charting on Yahoo is a little better refined. If you are just looking for charts though there are better places to get them. They allow you to create a portfolio and keeps track of your recent stock quotes even if you aren't logged in. Google also does the same.
These two will probably take care of everything you need. Below is a list of more places you can check your share prices today.
CNN Money - Can track last five trades as well as watch lists. Decent charting capabilities.
MSN Money - Focuses more on news stories than stock price tracking.
CNBC Great site if you are looking for news stories, some pretty indepth coverage and excellent features. Not the greatest site for checking your share prices today though.
Daily Finance - Owned by AOL, it does a good job of putting it all together. Stories, charts and in depth information. Portfolios require you to be logged in. Accounts are free though.
Direct Links to Check Share Prices Today
The exchanges which provide the data to check your share prices today to the websites above also give you access directly. You don't need to know which exchange they are traded on either as they allow you to search for any stock. The data is free so to speak to check your share prices today.
Generally I have found them useful for looking for specific information but overall I prefer the sites that gather it all together (like those mentioned above) to help you check your share prices today.
Nasdaq - The primary exchange for technology stocks. It is completely electronic based with nearly 3,000 stocks traded on it.
NYSE New York Stock Exchange was founded in 1792. It has been around a long time and adjusted to changes in the market place. They recently added the Amex (American Stock Exchange) into their family.
These are the primary US based stock exchanges. You can find a stock exchange in just about every country around the world.
Look for some good resources on charting stock prices soon. Also don't forget to read how to buy stocks online and our series on stock market prediction
PS Check your stock broker as well. They will usually provide some cool tools for helping you check your share prices today.
