Glossary

Use the Glossary in conjunction with our economic calendar to track the key upcoming price sensitive announcements from both Europe and the US.

 

ADR
American Depository Receipt

Arbitrage
The process where a gap between two market makers prices is exploited by buying from one while simultaneously selling to the other to lock in a profit.

 

Ask
The quoted offer at which someone can buy; also called the offer

 

Auction
The process of competitive or open bidding at exchanges for a particular financial product where the price is not set by negotiation.

 

Auto Sales (US)
Important to the US economy, shows consumer confidence

 

Backwardation
A market condition where futures price is trading lower than the expected spot price at contract maturity.

Balance of Payments
Accounting record of all monetary transactions between a country and the rest of the world

Balance of Trade
Largest component of the balance of payments

 

Base rate
Interest rate set by central bank to lend other banks.

 

Bear market
A market distinguished by declining prices.

 

Bid price
The price at which a stock, index or commodity can be sold.

 

Bid-ask price
The difference between what buyers are willing to pay and what sellers are asking for in terms of price

 

Blue chip stock
Stock of a financially sound company that has demonstrated its ability to pay dividends in both good and bad times.

 

Bond
A certificate of debt issued by a government or corporation that guarantees payment of the original investment plus interest by a specified future date.

 

Broker ratings
Buy, sell or hold recommendations or ratings given to individual company stocks by securities analysts, depending on how the stock will perform in the short or long-term.

 

BUND
Long term (10 year) German Government Bond.

 

Bull market
A market distinguished by rising prices.

 

Business Inventories and Sales
Total output produced but remaining unsold of the GDP

 

Cable
Sterling/US dollar exchange rate. Derived from the fact thatGBP/USD exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable laid under Atlantic Ocean in 1858.
 

Capital gains tax
A tax on investment profits. Spread betting winnings are free of any UK Capital Gains Tax under current laws

 

Cash price
The price of an asset for immediate delivery. In other words, the actual price of an instrument right now; this term is often used for stock indices, whereas the synonymous term of 'spot' is more often applied to forex and commodity prices.

 

CBI Survey
Monthly business confidence, output sales, prices , inventories, export and import

 

Chicago PMI (Purchasing Managers Index)
Largest national survey

 

Commodity
A basic good used in commerce which is usually uniform across producers and can be traded on an exchange. Soft commodities are goods that are grown, such as coffee and sugar, while hard commodities are extracted through mining, such as gold and coal.

 

Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Measure of inflation, higher the CPI = higher inflation

 

Corporate action
means any event initiated by a corporation which impacts itsshareholders. Examples include stock splits, consolidations, mergers and spinoffs.

 

Derivatives
Financial contracts, such as futures and options, whose value is derived from an underlying asset, rate or index.

 

Dividend
That part of a company's after-tax earnings that is distributed to shareholders. Dividends are paid at the company's discretion. They may be distributed as cash or by scrip dividend.

 

Dow Jones industrial index
The benchmark US stock market index that tracks the performance of a selection of thirty US blue-chip stocks.

 

Durable Goods Orders
Large ticket items such as machinery and plant equipment. Transportation and defence orders

 

ECB (European Central Bank)
Central Bank for the euro zone and decides on interest rates

 

Ex-dividend
A share bought without the right to receive the next dividend which is retained by the seller.

 

Existing Home Sales
Number and value of old homes sold, measure of consumer confidence and spending power

 

Expiration/expiry date
The date that a spread bet expires.

 

Fair value
This is the theoretical price at which a futures contract should trade when compared to the cash or spot price.

 

FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee)
Body that sets interest rates and credit policy

 

FSA
Financial Services Authority. The governing body that regulates the financial services industry including spread betting.

FTSE
Financial Times Stock Exchange. These firms are jointly responsible for the compilation and maintenance of the main stock indices reflecting the performance of the UK's top shares.

FTSE 100
The index that highlights the performance of the UK's top 100 companies, as ranked by their market capitalisation. We refer to this as UK100 in our literature.

FTSE ALL SHARE
An index covering about 800 shares representing 98% of UK market value. There are indices for business sub-sectors as well.

FTSE MID 250
The index of the next 250 companies, after the top 100.

FTSE 350
The index of the top 350 companies by market capitalisation. It is a combination of the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 stocks.

Futures
A financial contract obligating the buyer/seller to purchase/sell an asset such as a physical commodity or a financial instrument, at a predetermined future date and price.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
Measure of market activity, value of goods and services produced by an economy.

Gearing
The relationship between potential profit or loss and the initial outlay. A position with high gearing or leverage stands to make or lose a large amount from a small initial outlay.

Gilts
UK Government Bonds. So called because the certificates wereoriginally gilt edged.

Good For the Day (GFD)
An order, which if not filled, expires at close of business on the day it is received

Good Till Cancelled (GTC)
An order that will be carried forward indefinitely until it is either filled or cancelled by you.

Good Till Date
An order, which if not filled, expires at close of business on a date specified by you.

Hedging
A strategy to reduce the risk of an open position.

 

Housing Starts and Building Permits
Number of new family homes and building that were constructed, strength of the economy

 

IFO
German leading survey for business conditions

 

Index
A statistical indicator that represents the total value of the stocks that constitute it e.g. the FTSE or the Dow Jones. It often serves as a barometer for a given market or industry and acts as a benchmark from whichfinancial or economic performance is measured.

Illiquid Market
A market in which it is difficult to sell or buy due to lack of interested buyers/sellers.

 

Initial Jobless Claims
Weekly change in number of claims to unemployment benefit

 

Interbank rates
Foreign Exchange rates at which large international banks quote other large international banks.

Interim dividends
A company's distribution of profits to shareholders halfway through the financial year.

Interim report
All companies quoted on the London stock exchange must release an interim report after the first 6 months of their financial year. It tends to concentrate on profitability, and may be used to justify an interim dividend.

IPO
Initial Public Offering. The offering of shares making theirmarket debut.

 

ISM (Institute of Supply Management)
Leading survey of US manufacturing activity, 50 and above indicates expansion

 

Leverage or gearing
Leverage or gearing allows traders to gain a large exposure with a relatively small outlay.

Limit order
An order to buy or sell a product when it hits a certain price. A limit order is placed when you want to place a trade at a better price than the current quote.Limit orders can be filled at better levels than expected. This can occur when markets do not move smoothly. They "gap" from one price to another at times and your limit order will be filled at the next available price to ETX Capital.

 

Margin
The amount required from a client - in addition to any deposit due - to cover losses when a price moves adversely.

Market hours
Hours during which a market can be traded with ETX Capital.

Market feed
means the automated live streaming prices of the underlying markets from their respective exchanges.

Market order
A financial contract which is executed at the current available market price.

 

Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index
Survey carried out by Michigan University at a national level

 

Mid-Price
The price derived by the average of bid and ask rate.

 

MPC (UK Monetary Policy Committee)
Body that sets interest rates

 

NASDAQ
The National Association of Securities Dealers' Automated Quotations System is an electronic stock exchange based in New York listingmany leading high-tech companies.

 

New Home Sales
National data for new home sales, prices and number of sales

 

Non Farm Payrolls
Number of new jobs created

 

Offer price
The price at which a stock, index or commodity can be bought.

Opening level
Means the price or market level at which a position was initiated.

Open position
Trades that are currently running within a portfolio.

 

Options
Financial derivative instrument that gives the contractual right, but not obligation, to buy (a call) or sell (a put) an investment at a specified price within a set period of time.

 

Personal Consumption
Amount spent on goods or services in a given month

 

Philly FedSurvey of Manufacturers
Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware

 

PPI (Producer Price Index)
Good measure of inflation

 

Purchasing Managers Index
Business confidence survey

 

Resistance
A term used in technical analysis indicating a price level at which analysis suggests a predominance of selling ñ and hence a greater likelihood that the price will fail to break through the level.

Retail Sales
The percentage change month on month

 

Rights issue
A privilege allowing existing shareholders to buy shares shortly before they are offered to the public at a specified and usually discountedprice and usually in proportion to the number of shares already owned. Suchcorporate actions mean that ETX Capital will adjust any position accordingly.

Scrip dividend
A scrip dividend is a scrip or bonus issue of shares made at no charge to shareholders in proportion to their holdings in lieu of a cash dividend.

SETS
Stock Electronic Trading Service. The order driven system used to trade FTSE 100, ex-FTSE 100 and reserve shares.

Settlement price
The last traded price for a financial contract on any trading day.

Shares
Shares represent ownership of part of a company. They are also known as equities.

Shorting
Refers to selling an asset that you do not own with the aim of buying it back cheaper at a later date. In spread betting, it refers to placing a 'down bet' or a trade in anticipation of a falling market.

Spread
The difference between our Buy and Sell price.

Stop loss
A pre-determined level at which you would like to close your bet to limit your loss if the price moves against you.

Stop order
Stops are orders to sell below, or buy above, the current price. Stop orders can be used to close or open a new position if the price breaksthrough a perceived support/resistance level.

Support level
A technique used in technical analysis to indicate a price floor at which you would expect the price to 'bounce' off. Opposite of this is resistance.

Tic
Or 'pip' or 'point', means the smallest possible movement (up or down) in the price of a contract.

Underlying market
The market upon which the derivative market price is dependent.

Volatility
A statistical measure of a market's price movements over time.

Watch list
A list of markets selected for surveillance.