What are the functions and importance of Capital Market?

Capital market plays an important role in mobilising resources, and diverting them in productive channels. In this way, it facilitates and promotes the process of economic growth in the country.

Various functions and significance of capital market are discussed below:

1. Link between Savers and Investors:

The capital market functions as a link between savers and investors. It plays an important role in mobilising the savings and diverting them in productive investment. In this way, capital market plays a vital role in transferring the financial resources from surplus and wasteful areas to deficit and productive areas, thus increasing the productivity and prosperity of the country.

2. Encouragement to Saving:

With the development of capital, market, the banking and non-banking institutions provide facilities, which encourage people to save more. In the less- developed countries, in the absence of a capital market, there are very little savings and those who save often invest their savings in unproductive and wasteful directions, i.e., in real estate (like land, gold, and jewellery) and conspicuous consumption.

3. Encouragement to Investment:

The capital market facilitates lending to the businessmen and the government and thus encourages investment. It provides facilities through banks and nonbank financial institutions. Various financial assets, e.g., shares, securities, bonds, etc., induce savers to lend to the govern­ment or invest in industry. With the development of financial institutions, capital becomes more mobile, interest rate falls and investment increases.

4. Promotes Economic Growth:

The capital market not only reflects the general condition of the economy, but also smoothens and accelerates the process of economic growth. Various institutions of the capital market, like nonbank financial intermediaries, allocate the resources rationally in accordance with the development needs of the country. The proper allocation of resources results in the expansion of trade and industry in both public and private sectors, thus promoting balanced economic growth in the country.

5. Stability in Security Prices:

The capital market tends to stabilise the values of stocks and securities and reduce the fluctuations in the prices to the minimum. The process of stabilisation is facilitated by providing capital to the borrowers at a lower interest rate and reducing the speculative and unproductive activities.

6. Benefits to Investors:

The credit market helps the investors, i.e., those who have funds to invest in long-term financial assets, in many ways:

(a) It brings together the buyers and sellers of securities and thus ensure the marketability of investments,

(b) By advertising security prices, the Stock Exchange enables the investors to keep track of their investments and channelize them into most profitable lines,

(c) It safeguards the interests of the investors by compensating them from the Stock Exchange Compensating Fund in the event of fraud and default.