Stock Market Glossary

US-traded certificate issued by a US bank that represents shares in a foreign company.

Australia’s corporate, markets, and financial services regulator.

Australia’s primary stock exchange and listing venue.

Volatility indicator measuring average true range, accounting for gaps.

Volume-weighted indicator estimating whether capital is flowing into (accumulation) or out of (distribution) a security.

Trading outside the exchange’s regular session via electronic venues; typically lower liquidity and wider spreads.

Excess return relative to a risk-adjusted benchmark; shorthand for manager/investor skill.

Finance professional who researches companies or sectors and publishes models, valuations, and recommendations.

A company’s yearly summary of audited financial statements, operations, governance and risks.

Bullish pattern with flat resistance and rising support, often resolving in an upside breakout.

Apportioning a portfolio across asset classes to balance risk and return.

Option with strike approximately equal to the current underlying price.

Maximum number of shares a company may issue under its constitution.

Average number of shares traded per day over a set period; proxy for liquidity.

Evaluating a strategy on historical data to gauge performance, risk, and robustness.

Futures curve where near-dated contracts trade above longer-dated ones; often reflects scarcity or convenience yield.

Snapshot of assets, liabilities, and equity at a point in time.

Sustained market decline, often defined as a fall of 20%+ from recent highs.

Highest price a buyer is willing to pay.

Difference between best bid and best ask; a direct cost of trading and a liquidity proxy.

Large, complex datasets and related techniques for storage, processing, and analysis.

Distributed ledger technology enabling verifiable, tamper-evident records without a single central intermediary.

Shares of large, established companies known for resilient earnings and balance sheets.

Moving average with upper/lower bands set by standard deviations to gauge volatility and extremes.

Debt security that pays interest and returns principal at maturity.

Equity value on the balance sheet: assets minus liabilities (and often minus intangibles for tangible book).

Gap that breaks out from a range/pattern, often starting a new trend on heavy volume.

Price moves through defined support/resistance, ideally with volume confirmation.

Sustained period of rising prices and constructive sentiment.

Steady annual growth rate taking an investment from start to finish value over a period.

ASX-quoted instrument representing beneficial ownership in foreign issuers, settled via CHESS.

Derivative paying the price difference between open and close without owning the underlying; typically leveraged.

ASX system for clearing, settlement and electronic registration (HIN-based ownership).

Inflation gauge based on a representative basket of goods and services.

Right, not obligation, to buy the underlying at the strike price before/at expiry.

Price chart showing open, high, low, and close per period as candles.

Breakdown of company ownership by holders, security types, and fully diluted shares.

Profit realised when an asset sells for more than its purchase price.

Mix of debt, equity, and hybrids used to finance operations and growth.

Net operating cash outflow over a period (commonly monthly) for companies not yet cash-flow positive.

Estimated months until cash runs out: cash balance divided by monthly burn.

Exchange-imposed trading halt triggered by sharp market declines.

Specific outcome measure used to assess a treatment’s effect (e.g., survival, symptom change).

Human studies evaluating safety/efficacy across Phases I–III (and IV post-approval).

Equity security conferring ownership with voting rights and residual profit claims.

Access to investigational therapies outside trials for serious or life-threatening conditions.

Futures curve with longer-dated contracts above near-dated ones; often reflects carry costs.

Debt security convertible into a set number of shares; blends fixed income with equity optionality.

Short-term debt that can convert into equity (often in private rounds) via a discount or valuation cap.

Reference value for tax and performance, adjusted for splits, dividends, and returns of capital.

Income strategy: hold the stock and sell a call over it; upside capped at the strike.

Agency assessment of default risk that influences a borrower’s cost of capital.

Naturally occurring liquid hydrocarbon refined into fuels and petrochemicals.

Bullish continuation: rounded base (cup) followed by shallow pullback (handle) prior to breakout.

Minimum mineral grade at which material is economically mineable.

Intraday strategy that opens and closes positions within the same trading day.

Brief recovery after a sharp decline, often followed by continuation lower.

Leverage ratio comparing total debt to shareholders’ equity.

Financial instrument whose value is derived from an underlying asset, rate, or index.

Bearish pattern with flat support and falling resistance, often resolving lower.

Holding different assets to reduce idiosyncratic risk.

Cash or stock distribution of profits to shareholders.

Annual dividend per share divided by current share price.

Price-weighted index of 30 large US companies.

Interest-rate sensitivity metric; weighted average time to receive bond cash flows.

Electronic system matching buy/sell orders outside traditional market makers.

Moving average that weights recent prices more heavily.

Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria used to assess non-financial company impacts.

Fund that trades on an exchange and tracks an index, sector, or asset basket.

Periodic (quarterly/annual) results including revenue, expenses, and profit.

Net income divided by weighted average shares outstanding.

Theory that security prices fully reflect available information.

First day shares trade without the right to the latest declared dividend.

Using the right to buy/sell the underlying at the strike price.

Last day the option is valid.

Nominal value of a bond paid back at maturity.

Levels derived from the Fibonacci sequence used to anticipate support/resistance.

Formal record of financial activity: balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.

Securities providing scheduled interest payments and principal at maturity.

Short-term continuation patterns that slope against the prior trend.

Shares available for public trading (excludes restricted holdings).

OTC agreement to buy/sell an asset at a set price on a future date.

Technique to extract oil/gas by injecting high-pressure fluid into rock formations.

Standardised exchange-traded contract to buy/sell an asset at a future date/price.

Total value of goods and services produced within a country.

Opening price significantly below prior close.

Opening price significantly above prior close.

Areas on a chart with no trading between consecutive periods.

Government body collecting and analysing geological data.

Bullish signal where a short MA (e.g., 50-day) crosses above a long MA (e.g., 200-day).

Intangible value from reputation, relationships and other non-physical assets (often from acquisitions).

Debt issued by a national government; typically lower credit risk.

Gross profit as a percentage of revenue.

Company expected to grow revenue/earnings faster than the market; often reinvests rather than pays dividends.

Reversal pattern with a peak (head) between two lower peaks (shoulders).

Position taken to offset potential losses in another position.

Pooled vehicle using flexible strategies (leverage, derivatives, shorts) targeting absolute returns.

Algorithmic trading executing large numbers of orders at extremely high speeds.

Company that owns controlling interests in subsidiaries but does not operate them directly.

Acquisition attempt opposed by the target’s management/board.

Composite indicator showing trend, momentum, and support/resistance via cloud visualisation.

Report of revenues, expenses, and profit over a period.

Fund designed to track a market index by holding similar assets in similar weights.

First sale of shares by a private company to public investors.

Illegal trading based on material non-public information.

Organisation investing on behalf of members or clients (e.g., super funds, insurers, endowments).

Legally protected creations such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

Network of connected sensors/devices that collect and exchange data.

Pattern of initial decline followed by later gains (e.g., private equity, currency devaluation).

Weekly count of unemployment benefit filings; a labour-market indicator.

Business arrangement where two or more parties share ownership, risks, and profits for a project.

High-yield bond with below-investment-grade credit rating.

Metric that tracks progress against key objectives.

Volatility envelope using an EMA and ATR to frame price bands.

Option that expires worthless if the underlying breaches a specified barrier.

Legacy benchmark rate for interbank lending; many contracts now reference alternative risk-free rates.

Company with a large market capitalisation (thresholds vary by market).

Use of borrowed funds to amplify exposure to returns (and losses).

Order to transact at a specified price or better.

Ease of trading an asset without materially moving its price.

Credit risk metric comparing loan amount to collateral value.

Period post-IPO during which insiders are restricted from selling shares.

Ownership of an asset expecting price appreciation.

Trend-following momentum indicator based on EMAs and a signal line.

Borrowed funds from a broker to buy securities; magnifies gains and losses.

Degree of participation across stocks (e.g., advance/decline line).

Current share price multiplied by total shares outstanding.

Temporary decline of roughly 10%+ from recent highs within a broader uptrend.

Basket tracking the performance of a group of securities.

Dealer quoting buy/sell prices and providing liquidity.

Order to transact immediately at the best available price.

Date when the bond’s principal is repaid.

Company with mid-sized market capitalisation (ranges vary by market).

Oil & gas transport, storage, and processing segment.

Extraction of minerals from the earth via underground, open-pit, or other methods.

Strategy buying relative winners and selling laggards on the premise trends persist.

Price-volume metric estimating buying/selling pressure over a period.

Average price over a lookback period used to smooth trends.

Pooled investment vehicle buying a diversified portfolio of assets.

US electronic exchange well known for technology listings.

Fund assets minus liabilities divided by shares outstanding.

Licensed Australian securities exchange.

Major US stock exchange listing many large, established companies.

Profit after all expenses, interest, and taxes.

Drug with an active ingredient never before approved.

Cumulative total of volume added on up days and subtracted on down days.

Cartel coordinating oil production policies among member countries.

Decentralised market where securities are traded directly between dealers.

Use of an approved drug for an unapproved indication.

Price at which a seller is willing to sell.

Mixtures of sand, water, clay, and bitumen; extracted via mining or in-situ methods.

Number of outstanding options/futures contracts not closed or expired.

Contract granting the right, not obligation, to buy (call) or sell (put) the underlying at a set price.

Therapy developed for a rare disease, often with incentives and extended exclusivity.

Trend-following indicator plotting dots as trailing stops above/below price.

Exclusive IP right granting inventors control over use of an invention for a limited period.

Small symmetrical triangles forming after strong moves; continuation pattern.

Progressive stages assessing safety (I), efficacy/dose (II), and confirmation at scale (III).

Levels derived from prior day’s high/low/close used to infer intraday S/R.

Collection of investments held by an investor or institution.

Equity with priority over common stock for dividends and liquidation.

Parallel support/resistance lines framing price swings within a trend.

Analyst/trader estimate of a future price level.

Market capitalisation divided by book value of equity.

Share price divided by earnings per share.

Market capitalisation divided by revenue.

Sale of securities to the public (e.g., IPO or secondary).

Right, not obligation, to sell the underlying at the strike before/at expiry.

Central bank asset purchases to increase money supply and lower yields.

Company’s quarterly financial results and commentary.

Liquidity ratio: (current assets – inventories) / current liabilities.

Second currency in a FX pair representing the unit used to price the base currency.

Sustained period of economic contraction (often two consecutive quarters of negative growth).

Consolidation range with horizontal support and resistance.

Momentum oscillator (0–100) used to identify overbought/oversold conditions.

Price area where rallies have repeatedly stalled.

Net income divided by average shareholders’ equity.

Profit or loss divided by initial investment.

Total income from normal business operations before expenses.

Offer to existing shareholders to buy additional shares, usually at a discount.

Identifying, measuring, and mitigating risks to meet objectives.

Return scaled by risk to enable fair comparisons across strategies.

US index tracking ~2,000 small-cap stocks.

US regulator overseeing securities markets and investor protection.

Group of companies with related products/services (e.g., tech, healthcare).

Electronic components forming the basis of chips and integrated circuits.

Natural gas extracted from shale formations (often via fracking).

Company repurchases its own shares, reducing shares outstanding.

Total shares sold short and not yet covered.

Selling borrowed shares to profit from a price decline.

Company with relatively small market capitalisation (local thresholds vary; AU often < A$300m).

Programs and applications running on computer hardware.

US index tracking 500 large companies; common performance benchmark.

Momentum oscillator comparing close to recent high-low range.

Equity security representing ownership in a company.

Marketplace where securities are listed and traded.

Increase in shares outstanding via new shares to holders, reducing price per share proportionally.

Order that triggers a sale when price reaches a specified level to cap losses.

Price area where declines have repeatedly stalled.

Holding positions for days to weeks to capture intermediate moves.

Market-wide risk that cannot be diversified away.

Australian exemption for offers to investors meeting asset/income tests or with an accountant’s certificate.

Residue left after extracting valuable minerals from ore.

Fund that shifts asset mix to become more conservative as a target date approaches.

Evaluation of securities via price/volume patterns and indicators.

Offer to purchase shares directly from shareholders, often at a premium.

Planned holding period for an investment.

Concept that money today is worth more than the same amount later due to earning potential.

Annual cost of operating a fund as a percentage of average net assets.

Return including price change and income (dividends/interest), net of fees/taxes as specified.

Temporary suspension of trading in a security/market.

Price oscillating between defined support and resistance.

Number of shares/contracts traded over a period; a liquidity/activity gauge.

Dynamic stop that follows price moves to protect gains.

Short-term US government debt (≤1 year).

Long-term US government debt (≈10 years or more).

Medium-term US government debt (≈2–10 years).

Bullish reversal pattern with three similar lows.

Bearish reversal pattern with three similar highs.

Simultaneous expiration of stock options, index options, and index futures; often higher volatility.

Allocation using one stock index fund and one bond index fund for broad diversification.

Security believed to trade below its intrinsic value.

Intermediary (often an investment bank) that structures and distributes new securities offerings.

Share of the labour force actively seeking work without employment.

Investment fund holding a fixed portfolio for a set period.

Company/asset-specific risk that can be reduced via diversification.

Exploration and production segment in oil & gas.

Series of higher highs and higher lows.

Market’s implied volatility gauge derived from S&P 500 options.

Average price weighted by traded volume; used as a trading benchmark.

Process of estimating the fair value of a company or asset.

Buying securities believed to be trading below intrinsic value.

Company trading at relatively low valuation metrics versus peers/market.

Asset manager known for low-cost index funds.

Private equity funding for early-stage, high-growth companies.

Magnitude of price fluctuations; higher volatility implies greater uncertainty.

Total shares/contracts traded over a period.

Metonym for the US financial industry; also a street in lower Manhattan.

Selling a security at a loss and repurchasing it soon after; may affect tax treatment.

Average where each item contributes proportionally to its weight.

Sharp reversal after a false signal, often in choppy markets.

Friendly acquirer that counters a hostile takeover.

Speculative investment with high uncertainty but large potential upside.

End-period portfolio changes to improve the appearance of holdings/performance.

Accounting recognition of an asset’s loss in value.

Ticker annotation indicating shares are trading ex-dividend.

Comparison of a metric with the same period in the prior year.

Historical OTC quotations publication listing prices for unlisted securities.

Income from an investment as a percentage of cost or current value.

Graph of bond yields across maturities; shape conveys rate/ growth expectations.

Dynamic pricing to maximise revenue given demand and capacity constraints.

Difference between yields of two bonds (often same maturity) indicating relative value/risk.

Total return expected on a bond if held to maturity, assuming coupons reinvested at the same rate.

Public company owning operating renewable assets; typically pays out high dividends.

Bond class that accrues interest (no periodic payments) until a later date.

Equity research firm known for quantitative ratings (e.g., Rank #1–#5).

Bond issued at a discount that pays no coupons and returns face value at maturity.

Scenario where one party’s gain equals another’s loss.

Indicator/pattern that filters minor price moves to highlight swing highs/lows.

Local regulations governing land use (residential, commercial, industrial).