A lot of traders are just gambling, but there is also something of value being created. Stocks are risky. People don't like risk. So the current price of a sto

A lot of traders are just gambling, but there is also something of value being created. Stocks are risky. People don't like risk. So the current price of a stock will always be less than its expected future value. Therefore the value of the stock will tend to go up. So when you own a stock you're being paid for bearing the risk. This is a real service of value that you're providing for the world.