Why did mother countries build colonies?

Colonies were a way for the mother country to engage in the practice of mercantilism, or increasing their power by creating a source for exports and raw materials. ... During the Age of Imperialism in the late 19th century, many colonies existed as a result of competition between world powers.

basically means the stoc market is going down since   dow is one of the most sucessful buiness it would be a tragedy for it to go down and it ensures the ruinty of the stock market