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A
ADR (American Depository Receipt)
A receipt of a foreign security showing it is tradable in the U.S. exchanges.
AMEX
American Stock Exchange.
Analyst
An expert who analyses investment options and market trends.
AON
An order to expedite the whole trade in one transaction.
Ask or Offer
The order price that a seller offers to sell stock.
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B
Bear
Being favorable to lower prices.
Best Ask or Best Offer (Inside Ask or Inside Offer)
The best current selling prices.
Best Bid
The best current buying price.
Beta
A basic measurement of a stock's worth in relation to the overall market.
Bid
The price at which a buyer offers to buy stock.
Block trade
A stock trade involving at least 10,000 or more shares.
Bull or Bullish
Being favorable to higher prices.
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C
Circuit Breaker (Locked Limit Down)
The point at which all trading is halted to prevent further panic during a rapid selloff. Only high priced trades are allowed to resume.
Locked Limit Down (Circuit Breaker)
The point at which all trading is halted to prevent further panic during a rapid selloff. Only high priced trades are allowed to resume.
Locked Limit Down (Circuit Breaker)
The point at which all trading is halted to prevent further panic during a rapid selloff. Only high priced trades are allowed to resume.
Closing Period
The last hour or two of trading before the stock market closes at the end of the day.
Crossed Market
When the Inside Bid is greater than the Inside Ask.
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D
Date of Record
The registered date of stock ownership.
Deleted or Delisted
A security that has be removed from public trading.
Downstick (NASDAQ)
When a lower Inside Bid is exposed after a higher Bid has been delisted.
Downstick (NYSE)
When a new trade is lower than a previous trade.
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E
ECN
Electronic Communication Networks used by day traders and institutions to post bids in the NASDAQ market.
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F
Fill
A command to instantly process an entire order.
Fundamental Analysis
Studying a company's financial statements, earnings, products, and economic role in the market.
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G
GTC Order (Good-till-Canceled)
An order that is open for process until canceled.
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H
Hit the Bid
Immediate sell to the current Bid price.
Hit the Offer
Immediate buy from the current Ask price.
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I
Inside Ask or Inside Offer (Best Ask or Best Offer)
The best current selling prices.
Inside Market
The range between the highest Bid price and the lowest offer prices among all competing market makers, or ECNs in a NASDAQ security.
Instinet System (INCA)
An ECN originally designed to allow commercial investors to post anonymous bids to other investors.
Intraday Activity
All trading transactions between the opening and closing of the day.
IPO
Initial Public Offering security that is available for public trading.
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K
Kill
A command to instantly cancel an order.
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L
Last Sale
The most recent stock trade.
Liquidity
The volume of available buyers and sellers.
Limit Order
A specified price order to buy or sell a stock.
Listed Stocks
Stocks that are listed and traded on an exchange and represented by a symbol character.
Locked Limit Down (Circuit Breaker)
The point at which all trading is halted to prevent further panic during a rapid selloff. Only high priced trades are allowed to resume.
Locked Market
When an Inside Bid equals the Inside Offer.
Long Position
When the stock owner is waits for a price move in order to sell at a higher price.
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M
MA
Moving Average.
Mark to Market
A position's value at the most recent closing price.
Market Capitalization (MCAP)
The total market value of all shares, usually derived by multiplying price by Outstanding Shares.
Market Makers
NASDAQ stock representatives to the public who are required to keep an open market by posting a buying and selling price, and trade to fulfill customer orders, including internal accounts for profit.
Market Maker Spread
The difference between prices of the market maker closest to the Inside Bid and the market maker closest to the Inside Ask, excluding ECNs.
Market Order
An order to buy or sell stock at the market's current price.
Market Value
The latest trading price.
Market Value Weighted Index
An index made up of securities with values that heavily influence the market.
Most Active
Stocks with the day's highest trading volume.
Midday Period
The hours between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (EST) for any trading day. Trade during this time generally slows down as people break for lunch.
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N
NASD
National Association of Securities Dealers, an organization responsible for regulating the NASDAQ stock market.
NASDAQ
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System, a network on an electronic market system where listed stocks are traded.
NASDAQ 100 Index
an index listing the top 100 valued stocks traded in the NASDAQ market.
NASDAQ Composite Index
an index listing all measured stocks listed on the NASDAQ market.
NASDAQ National Market
The large capital stocks listed on the NASDAQ.
NASDAQ SmallCap Market
The small capital stocks listed on the NASDAQ.
NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange where stocks are traded in an open floor market.
NYSE Composite Index
an index that measures the market value of all NYSE traded stocks.
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O
Open
A markets first traded price for the day.
Open Order
An order open for trade.
Opening Period
The first hour or two of the trading day.
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P
P/E Ratio (Price to Earnings Ratio)
A stock's market measure in relation to actual earnings.
Partial Fill
An order that has been implemented for only part of the requested share size.
Previous Close
The last reported price from the previous trading day.
Prints
A price and size report of actual trades in real-time.
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Q
Quarterly Report
A report that the SEC requires companies that trade in public markets to submit on a quarterly basis, publicizing overall performance and financial stability.
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R
Range
The difference between the highest and lowest prices that are traded during a specific given time frame.
Real Time Trade Reporting
When all transactions are instantly requested.
Refresh
when a market maker or ECN places a post to buy or sell more shares after fulfilling an order.
Resistance or Ceiling
The price where enough sellers prevent the price from rising any further.
Retained Earnings
Net profits in a business after all dividends have been paid.
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S
S&P 500
The Standard & Poor index that represents the top 500 value-measured companies.
SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)
A federal agency that protects the public investors against fraudulent or manipulative practices in the stock market.
Short Interest
The total number of shortened shares in one specific stock.
Short Sell
The sale of stock with the hope of buying it back later at a lower price.
Slippage
The difference in price from when an order is placed to when it is actually carried out.
SOES
The Small Order Execution System.
SOES Order Entry Firm
A firm from NASD that is registered as an Order Entry Firm for participation in the SOES.
Spread
The difference between the Inside Bid and the Outside Ask.
Stock Dividend
Corporate dividend payment in stock instead of cash.
Stop Loss
A point at which a trader has decided to get out of a trade to prevent further loss.
SuperDOT (Super Designated Order Turnaround)
A NYSE electronic system for placing stock orders directly to the specialist.
Support
The point at which falling stock found buyers to prevent further decline.
Surprise
The price difference between what a trader expects to earn and what they actually earn.
Symbol (NASDAQ Stocks)
NASDAQ symbols of securities made up of four to five letters.
Symbol (NYSE Stocks)
NYSE symbols of one, two or three letters representing securities.
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T
Technical Analysis
Chart patterned studies of price and volume that is unrelated to Fundamental analysis.
Teenie
0.125 of a point on the stock market.
Trading Halt
An interim stop on the trading of a particular stock because of news that might affect either the price of stock, the flow of orders, or even regulatory rule violations.
Two-Sided Market
The NASD and NASDAQ requirement that appropriate bids and offers are made on each security.
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U
Underwriter
An investment organization that brings a business to public trading.
Uptick (NASDAQ)
A bid posted higher than the previous bid.
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V
Volatility
The amount of price fluctuation regarding a security.
Volume
The number of shares that are either traded in a specific stock or in the stock market as a whole.
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(glossary supplied courtesy of clickevents.co.uk)