Etymology: L, macula, spot. 1 a small flat blemish or discoloration that is level with the skin surface. Examples are freckles and some rashes. Compare papule. 2 a gray scar on the cornea that is visible without magnification. macular, adj. Macule.
Stock Market. The stock market is the community of individuals and corporations engaged in the buying and selling of shares of companies, called stocks, on the open market. Shares of stock are traded on a stock exchange and are tracked on indices such as the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. In the U.S., the stock market is commonly referred to as Wall Street, the eight-block region in lower Manhattan in New York where many of the nationâs major financial institutions are based.
As of December 31, 2007, U.S. equities accounted. for 42% of the global equity market. International. equities, including those of developed countries such. as Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, plus. those of emerging countries such as Brazil, India, and. China, accounted for the remaining 58%. As shown in. Figure 1, the 2007 U.S. market capitalization is below. the recent high of 55% of the global equity market, reached in March 2003, but remains significantly. above the all-time low of 29%, reached at the peak. of the Japanese stock market run in the late 1980s.