股票市場是投機(jī)的金融市場，投機(jī)是股票市場的基石和潤滑劑。進(jìn)入股票市場的公司、投資機(jī)構(gòu)和投資者，都是由于"投機(jī)"二字而進(jìn)入的。進(jìn)入股票市場的大眾必須認(rèn)真理解這一點，因為今后所論述和引入的新技術(shù)分析理論都是建立在"投機(jī)"這個基礎(chǔ)上的。只要深入理解"投機(jī)"的內(nèi)涵，投資者在股市的風(fēng)險就會降到最低。本章節(jié)著重論述這個觀點。

　　世界上成功的商業(yè)和企業(yè)幾乎都是上市公司。沒有股票市場也就沒有今天世界的繁榮。一句話，沒有投機(jī)就沒有股票市場，也就沒有今天社會繁榮。全世界的知名企業(yè)，更離不開股票市場。

　　投機(jī)是股票市場和市場經(jīng)濟(jì)活動的基石和潤滑劑。對于這一提法，可能會有很多不同的觀點，正是因為具有不同的觀點和看法，這個問題一直是世界上經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家和政治批評家爭論不休的問題。這里引用美國紐約大學(xué)教授、著名經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家威廉J鮑默爾（WILLIAMSＪBAUMAL）關(guān)于股市"投機(jī)"一詞的一段論述：

　　Dealings in securities are often viewed with hostility and suspicion because they are thought to be an instrument of speculation. When something goes wrong in the market, say, when there is a sudden fall in price, speculators are often blamed. The word speculators is used by editorial writers as a term of strong disapproval, implying that those who engage in the activity are parasites who produce no benefits for society and often do it considerably harm.Economists disagree vehemently with this judgment. They say that speculators perform two vital economic functions:1. Speculators sell protection from risk to other people, much as a fire insurance policy sells protection from risk to a homeowner.2. They help to smooth out price fluctuations by purchasing items when they are abundant (and cheap) and holding them and reselling them when they are scarce (and expensive). I that way, speculators play a vital economic role in helping to alleviate and even shortages.

　　Speculators enable farmers or producers of metals and other commodities whose future price is uncertain to get rid of their risk. A farmer who has planted a large crop but who fears its price may fall before harvest time can protect himself by signing a contract for future delivery at an agreed-upon price at which the speculator will purchase the crop when it comes in. In that case, if the price happens to fall, it is the speculator and not the farmer who will suffer the loss. Of course, if the price happens to rise the speculator reap the gain-that is the nature of risk bearing. The speculator who has agreed to buy the crop at the preset price, regardless of market condition at the time the sale take place, has, in effect, sold an insurance policy to the farmer. Surly this is a useful.

　　這段英文的大意是：

　　在市場上買賣股票的行為常常被認(rèn)為是不道德的投機(jī)行為。一旦市場發(fā)生差錯，股票價格突然大跌，一些專欄作家和政冶批評家會強(qiáng)烈責(zé)怪投機(jī)者是不能為社會創(chuàng)造財富反而損害社會的寄生蟲。

　　經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家完全不同意這個判斷。他們認(rèn)為，市場投機(jī)者在經(jīng)濟(jì)活動中起到生生死攸關(guān)的二個穩(wěn)定作用。

　　1) 市場投機(jī)者穩(wěn)定了股票價格的波動，當(dāng)股票價格下降時，投機(jī)者買入股票，當(dāng)股票價格上升時投機(jī)者賣出股票。大大降低了市場價格波動的不利影響。

　　2) 市場投機(jī)者承擔(dān)了生產(chǎn)制造者的市場風(fēng)險，正如保險公司承擔(dān)了置業(yè)者的火險一樣。

　　例如，在期貨市場上，投機(jī)者能使農(nóng)產(chǎn)品、金屬材料和一些其它商品未來的價格得到穩(wěn)定。如當(dāng)一個農(nóng)民種植了很多玉米，他擔(dān)心在收獲時玉米的價格會下降，他可以簽署一份玉米期貨銷售合同，把價格下降的風(fēng)險轉(zhuǎn)移到投機(jī)者。到玉米收獲時，價格下降了，投機(jī)者承擔(dān)了農(nóng)民的損失。當(dāng)價格上升了，投機(jī)者獲到收益。這相當(dāng)于投機(jī)者把一個農(nóng)產(chǎn)品未來的價格保險賣給這個農(nóng)民一樣。

　　經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家對投機(jī)的看法顯然是符合經(jīng)濟(jì)的運(yùn)行規(guī)律的。其實，這個觀點是非常簡單、明確和無可置疑的事實。在股票市場上，正是股票的發(fā)行者和上市公司把它們未來的生產(chǎn)和經(jīng)營風(fēng)險轉(zhuǎn)稼給投機(jī)者。投機(jī)者給上市公司開了一張保險單。這張投保單的內(nèi)容是投機(jī)者承擔(dān)了該公司的生產(chǎn)和經(jīng)營損失。所以，上市公司的生產(chǎn)和經(jīng)營收益理應(yīng)歸投機(jī)者所有。有的人可能會反駁說，您的觀點不對，買股票的人不是投機(jī)者而是投資者。見人見智，這是您對投機(jī)定義錯誤或?qū)ν稒C(jī)理解的差異所致。所有進(jìn)入股票市場的投資者，都是抱著投機(jī)的心理和目的進(jìn)入股市的，無論是長線、中線和短線投資者，他們在股票市場上都采用低買高拋賺取差價的投機(jī)手法，這本身就是一個投機(jī)行為，這種賺取差價行為是以承擔(dān)風(fēng)險為代價的。