What is a Stock?

A stock is a tiny piece of a company. If you own one share of Reliance, you own a very small slice of the entire Reliance business.

When the company earns more money and grows, that slice becomes more valuable. When the company struggles, it becomes less valuable.

You can buy or sell that slice on the stock exchange (NSE / BSE) — kind of like a marketplace, but for tiny pieces of companies.

Think of it as being a very small business partner without doing any of the work.