Stock Market

A trading instruction that requires the entire order to be filled completely or not executed at all, preventing partial fills.

A certificate issued by a U.S. bank representing shares in a foreign company, allowing American investors to buy foreign stocks on U.S. exchanges.

A professional securities analyst's recommendation on whether to buy, hold, or sell a particular stock, typically issued by investment banks and research firms.

The lowest price at which a seller is willing to sell a security, also known as the offer price — it is the price a buyer must pay to purchase immediately.

The maximum number of shares a company is legally permitted to issue, as specified in its corporate charter or articles of incorporation.

Holding a losing investment position that has declined significantly in value, often due to emotional attachment or refusal to accept the loss.

A prolonged period of declining asset prices, typically defined as a drop of 20% or more from recent highs, accompanied by widespread pessimism and negative investor sentiment.

The highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay for a security — it is the price you will receive if you sell immediately.

The difference between the highest price a buyer will pay (bid) and the lowest price a seller will accept (ask) for a security.

A privately negotiated, large-volume securities transaction that is executed outside the open market to minimize price impact.

A period when a company closes its shareholder register to determine which shareholders are eligible for dividends, voting rights, or other corporate actions.

The net asset value of a company as shown on its balance sheet, calculated as total assets minus total liabilities.

A prolonged period of rising asset prices, typically defined as a gain of 20% or more from recent lows, accompanied by widespread optimism and strong investor confidence.

A regulatory mechanism that temporarily halts trading when the market experiences extreme price movements.

The last traded price of a security when the market closes for the day.

The average of analyst forecasts for a company's earnings, revenue, or other financial metric.

A private exchange where large block trades are executed anonymously, away from public order books.

Buying and selling securities within the same trading day to profit from short-term price movements.

A brief recovery in a declining stock price before the downtrend continues.

The removal of a company's stock from a stock exchange, making it no longer available for regular trading.

A method for a company to go public by listing existing shares on an exchange without an underwritten IPO.

The date set by a company to determine which shareholders are eligible to receive an upcoming dividend.

A program that automatically reinvests cash dividends into additional shares of the same stock, enabling compound growth.

The annual dividend payment divided by stock price, expressed as a percentage, showing the income return on investment.

A price-weighted index of 30 large U.S. blue-chip stocks, one of the oldest and most-watched market benchmarks.

A company's profit divided by its outstanding shares, showing how much money a company makes for each share of stock.

A quarterly or annual filing where a company discloses its financial results, including revenue, net income, and EPS.

The period each quarter when the majority of public companies report their financial results.

The difference between a company's actual reported earnings and the analyst consensus estimate.

The first trading day on which new buyers of a stock are no longer entitled to participate in a rights offering.

An order type that must be executed immediately and completely or cancelled entirely—no partial fills allowed.

The number of shares available for public trading, excluding insider holdings, restricted shares, and closely held shares.

A portion of a full share of stock, allowing investors to buy less than one complete share.

A discontinuity on a chart where a stock's price jumps between two trading sessions with no trades in between.

The process by which a private company offers shares to public investors for the first time.

An order type that remains active until it is either executed or manually cancelled by the investor.

The first sale of a company's stock to the public, transitioning it from private to publicly traded.

Buying or selling securities based on material, non-public information in violation of securities law.

The total number of shares a company has sold and distributed to shareholders, including treasury shares.

Companies with a market capitalization typically above $10 billion, considered stable blue-chip investments.

Real-time order book data showing all bid and ask prices with their sizes from every market maker and ECN.

An order to buy or sell a security at a specific price or better, giving you price control but no execution guarantee.

The ease and speed with which an asset can be converted to cash without significantly affecting its market price.

The standardized number of units in a single trading transaction, typically 100 shares for stocks.

A measure of how many stocks are participating in a market move, indicating the health of a trend.

The total market value of a company's outstanding shares, calculated by multiplying the stock price by the number of shares outstanding.

A decline of 10% to 20% from a recent market peak, considered a normal part of market cycles.

A sudden, severe drop in stock prices, typically exceeding 20% in a short period, often driven by panic.

The volume of buy and sell orders at various price levels, indicating a market's ability to absorb large trades.

A statistical measure tracking the performance of a group of stocks representing a market or sector.

A firm or individual that continuously quotes both buy and sell prices for a security, providing liquidity to the market.

An order to buy or sell a security immediately at the best available current price.

A sustained period of rising stock prices, driven by optimism, strong earnings, or favorable economic conditions.

A group of stocks that belong to the same industry or segment of the economy, used for classification, benchmarking, and investment analysis.

The overall attitude or mood of investors toward a particular market or security, ranging from bullish optimism to bearish pessimism.

Companies with a market capitalization exceeding $200 billion, representing the largest and most influential publicly traded firms.

A stock that gains viral popularity through social media, often experiencing extreme price volatility driven by retail investor enthusiasm rather than fundamentals.

Companies with a market capitalization between $50 million and $300 million, offering high growth potential but also elevated risk and limited liquidity.

Companies with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, often balancing growth potential with relative stability.

The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations — the second-largest stock exchange globally, known for its concentration of technology and growth companies.

The world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization, located on Wall Street in New York City, known for listing established blue-chip companies.

A stock trade involving fewer than the standard 100-share round lot, commonly used by retail investors making smaller investments.

The price at which a stock first trades when the market opens for the day, determined by pre-market supply and demand.

A decentralized market where securities are traded directly between parties rather than on a formal exchange, often used for smaller or foreign companies.

The total number of shares of a company's stock currently held by all shareholders, including institutional investors, insiders, and the public.

Low-priced stocks typically trading below $5 per share, often on OTC markets, carrying high risk due to limited liquidity, minimal disclosure, and susceptibility to manipulation.

The lowest tier of the OTC market with minimal disclosure requirements, historically printed on pink paper, now operated electronically by OTC Markets Group.

A defensive strategy used by a company's board to prevent or discourage hostile takeovers by diluting the acquiring company's stake.

Trading activity that occurs before the regular stock market session, typically between 4:00 AM and 9:30 AM Eastern Time.

A hybrid security with characteristics of both stocks and bonds, offering fixed dividend payments and priority over common stock.

An analyst's projected future price for a stock, typically over a 12-month horizon, based on fundamental analysis and valuation models.

A valuation metric comparing a company's stock price to its earnings per share, indicating how much investors pay per dollar of earnings.

The date set by a company to determine which shareholders are eligible to receive a declared dividend or participate in a corporate action.

A measure comparing a stock's price performance to a benchmark index or peer group over a specified period, identifying outperformers and underperformers.

A corporate action that reduces the number of outstanding shares while proportionally increasing the share price, often used to meet exchange listing requirements.

A capital-raising method where a company offers existing shareholders the right to purchase additional shares at a discount to the current market price.

A standard trading unit of 100 shares, historically the default order size for stock exchange transactions.

A stock market index tracking 2,000 small-cap U.S. companies, widely used as a benchmark for small-cap performance.

A market-capitalization-weighted index tracking 500 of the largest U.S. publicly traded companies, widely considered the best single gauge of the American stock market.

The sale of new or previously held shares after a company's initial public offering, used to raise additional capital or allow insiders to sell their stakes.

A rapid and widespread decline in stock prices driven by heavy selling pressure, often triggered by negative news, fear, or forced liquidation.

A corporate action where a company repurchases its own outstanding shares from the market, reducing the share count and potentially boosting earnings per share.

A trading strategy that profits from a decline in a security's price by borrowing shares to sell, then buying them back at a lower price.

Companies with a market capitalization between $300 million and $2 billion, offering higher growth potential but also greater volatility and risk.

A blank-check shell company formed to raise capital through an IPO for the purpose of acquiring an existing private company, providing an alternative path to going public.

A security representing ownership in a corporation, entitling the holder to a share of profits and voting rights.

A tool that filters stocks based on user-defined criteria such as market cap, P/E ratio, dividend yield, and other financial metrics to identify investment candidates.

A corporate action that divides existing shares into multiple shares, reducing the per-share price proportionally while keeping total market capitalization unchanged.

An order to sell a security when it reaches a certain price, designed to limit an investor's loss on a position.

A trading style that aims to capture short- to medium-term price movements over several days to weeks, using technical and fundamental analysis.

The practice of analyzing real-time trade data (time and sales) to interpret buying and selling pressure, order flow, and potential short-term price direction.

A public proposal by one party to purchase some or all of shareholders' stock at a specified price, typically at a premium to the current market price.

A unique abbreviation of letters assigned to a publicly traded stock or ETF for identification on exchanges and trading platforms.

A real-time data feed showing every executed trade for a security, including the price, volume, and exact time of each transaction.

A temporary suspension of trading in a security ordered by an exchange or regulator, typically triggered by pending news, extreme volatility, or regulatory concerns.

A dynamic stop order that automatically adjusts upward with a rising stock price by a set amount or percentage, locking in profits while protecting against reversals.

Previously issued shares that a company has repurchased from the open market and holds in its own treasury, reducing shares outstanding.

A regulation that restricts short selling to only occur on an uptick — when the last trade price was higher than the previous one — to prevent aggressive short-selling pressure.

A measure of how much and how quickly an asset's price fluctuates, indicating the degree of risk and uncertainty.

The number of shares or contracts traded in a security or market during a given period, indicating trading activity and liquidity.

The right of shareholders to vote on corporate matters such as board elections, mergers, and major policy changes, typically at one vote per common share.

A financial instrument issued by a company that gives the holder the right to buy its stock at a specific price before expiration, similar to a long-dated call option.

An unofficial, unpublished earnings estimate that circulates among traders and analysts, often representing true market expectations beyond the official consensus.