Stocks trade on a number of exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ market. The NASDAQ is home to many technology stocks, and is in fact heavily weighted to tech stocks. Investors looking for a way to play the technology market often invest in stocks found on the NASDAQ market, or in the exchange traded fund that tracks the performance of this widely tracked index.
Step 1
Turn to the stock chart section in your favorite financial publication. All stock tables should include a section detailing all the stocks on the NASDAQ exchange. The stocks are all listed by ticker symbols instead of names. You can look up the ticker symbol of a NASDAQ stock and get its associated company name online at financial websites like Yahoo! Finance and CNN Money.
Step 2
Choose the stocks in which you want to invest. You might want to choose stocks of companies whose products you use every day or companies you admire. Request an annual report for each company you are considering, and review that annual report carefully. Look at such factors as earnings growth, or how the company has been able to grow its earnings over time. Other factors to consider include the dividend yield of the stock, and how volatile it has been in the past.
Step 3
Consider investing in the exchange traded fund that tracks the NASDAQ market, rather than trying to pick and choose individual stocks. It an be very difficult for even professional investors to select the right stocks, so investing in the index itself might be a better choice. The NASDAQ tracking exchange traded fund trades under the ticker symbol QQQQ.
Step 4
Log on to your brokerage account and enter the ticker symbol of the stock or exchange traded fund you wish to purchase. Enter the number of shares you want to buy and review the total cost of the trade. Check the balance of your account to make sure you have enough to make the trade, then confirm your purchase. Keep records of your purchase confirmations with your tax documents.
