If you are going to invest in the stock market it pays to understand as much as you can about how it works. In this sense you should know how the prices of each and every companys shares are influenced by various factors. One common misconception is that if a share closes on a certain price one day lets say at $4.32 for example that same share should open on exactly that same amount the next day. In truth it will happen much like this for most of the time. For example it might close on $4.32 and open on $4.31 or $4.33. In short the price shouldnt change too much. But on occasion it will change, and this is very important to understand when it comes to investing in the stock market and buying shares in various companies. For example the company that is worth $4.32 per share could end up discovering its board of directors have been unlawfully getting up to something they shouldnt with company funds. If this is the case and everyone gets wind of it before the market opens, those shares could be worth significantly less than $4.32 each