Stock valuation is an up-to-the-second price for a highly liquid asset that is fungible to cash; a good comparison would be the exchange rate affecting the valu

Stock valuation is an up-to-the-second price for a highly liquid asset that is fungible to cash; a good comparison would be the exchange rate affecting the value of the "cash" in your checking account, which is not actual cash, but rather an IOU for cash. "Imagined money" is not a good way to describe stock valuation.