Stock Market: To trade company shares (or stock) and derivatives, a stock market or equity market is public entity where these shares and derivatives are sold at agreed price. These are to be listed on a stock exchange in order to trade publicly.
Institutional investors (insurance companies, banks, mutual funds, etc), Individual retail investors and also publicly traded corporations trading in their own shares will participate in such share market. Retail investors receive less risk-adjusted returns than corporations and institutional investors who are trading in stock market.