Financial Terminology


	Ask : Ask The price a seller is willing to accept for a security, also known as the offer price. Along with the price, the ask quote will generally also stipulate the amount of the security willing to be sold at that price.

	Best Ask :Best Ask The lowest quoted ask price for a particular stock among those offered from competing market makers.

	Best Bid :Best Bid The highest quoted bid for a particular stock among all those offered by competing market makers.

	Bid : Bid An offer made by an investor, a trader or a dealer to buy a security. The bid will stipulate both the price at which the buyer is willing to purchase the security and the quantity to be purchased.

	Broker : An individual or firm that charges a fee or commission for executing buy and sell orders submitted by an investor. The role of a firm when it acts as an agent for a customer and charges the customer a commission for its services.

	Buy order : Instruction given to the Broker to buy certain stock at either Market price or fixed price.

	Cash Investment to Deposit (%) : = Cash and Investment x 100 / Deposits.

	CDS : Stands for Clearing, Deposits, and settlements.

	Clearing : The procedure by which an organization acts as an intermediary and assumes the role of a buyer and seller for transactions in order to reconcile orders between transacting parties.

	Closing Price : The final price at which a security is traded on a given trading day. The closing price represents the most up-to-date valuation of a security until trading commences again on the next trading day.

	Credit to Deposits (%) : = Granted Credits x 100 / Deposits.

	Credit to Total Assets (%) : = Granted Credits x 100 / Total Assets.

	Current Price : = The "real time" price of a security trading on an exchange.

	Current Ratio : Current ratio is defined as current assets divided by current liabilities.

	Dividend Paid to Paid-In Capital (%) : = Cash Dividends x 100 / Paid-In Capital.

	Current Ratio : Current ratio is defined as current assets divided by current liabilities.

	Current Ratio : Current ratio is defined as current assets divided by current liabilities.


	Dividend Paid to Paid-In Capital (%) : = Cash Dividends x 100 / Paid-In Capital.

	Earning Per Share (AED) := Net Profit / No. of Outstanding Shares.

	Equity Ratio (%) := Shareholders’ Equity x 100 / Total Assets.

	Face value : The nominal value or dollar value of a security stated by the issuer. For stocks, it is the original cost of the stock shown on the certificate.


	Gainers : Stocks that have increased the most.

	Gray Market : An unofficial market where new issues of shares are bought and sold before they become officially available for trading on the stock exchange.

	Hot IPO : An initial public offering that appeals to many investors and for which there is great demand. Hot IPOs are often oversubscribed - meaning market demand far exceeds the supply of shares - which results in the stock price surging as soon as it is offered on the market.

	Immediate or Cancel Order : An order requiring that all or part of the order be executed immediately after it has been brought to the market. Any portions not executed immediately are automatically cancelled.

	Index : A statistical measure of change in an economy or a securities market. In the case of financial markets, an index is essentially an imaginary portfolio of securities representing a particular market or a portion of it.

	Initial Public Offering (IPO) : A company raising capital by selling common stock to public for the first time.

	Interest rate : The amount of ownership a stockholder has in a company, usually expressed as a percentage.

	Credit to Total Assets (%) : = Granted Credits x 100 / Total Assets.


	Limit Down : The maximum amount by which the price of a commodity futures contract may decline in one trading day.

	Limit Order : An order placed with a brokerage to buy or sell a set number of shares at a specified price or better. Limit orders also allow an investor to limit the length of time an order can be outstanding before being canceled.

	Limit up : The maximum amount by which the price of a commodity futures contract may advance in one trading day.

	Limit-on-Close Order : A type of limit order to buy or sell shares near the market close only if the closing price is trading better than the limit price. This order is an expansion of the market-on-close order, adding to it a limit condition, which places a maximum on the entry price and minimum on the selling price.

	Limit-On-Open Order : A type of limit order to buy or sell shares at the market open if the market price meets the limit condition. This type of order is good only for the market opening and does not last for the whole trading day.

	Losers : : Stocks that have decreased the most.


	Market Index : An aggregate value produced by combining several stocks or other investment vehicles together and expressing their total value against a base value from a specific date. Market indexes are intended to represent an entire stock market and thus track the market's changes over time.

	Market Price : The price of the stock that is currently offered in the market.

	Market Value : Market Value.

	Matching Orders : Entering identical buy and sell orders at the same time to create the appearance of active trading in that security.

	Online Trading : Making trades via the Internet.

	Opening Price : The price at which a security first trades upon the opening of an exchange on a given trading day.

	Order Book : This is an option found in the online trading homepage. Where all the stocks that are ordered but not yet processed and executed are recorded.

	Price / Earning Ratio (Multiplier) : = Closing Price / Earning per share.
	Retired Securities : Securities that have been repurchased by the issuer out of the company's retained earnings and cancelled according to Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. They have no market value and no longer represent a share of ownership in the issuing corporation.

	Retired Securities : Securities that have been repurchased by the issuer out of the company's retained earnings and cancelled according to Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. They have no market value and no longer represent a share of ownership in the issuing corporation.

	Return of Revenues (%) : = Net profit x 100 / Total Revenue.

	Return on Assets (%) : = Net Profit x 100 / Total Assets.

	Return on Equity (%) : = Net Profit x 100 / Shareholders Equity.

	Return on Paid-In Capital (%) : = Net Profit x 100 / Paid-In Capital.

	SCFMS : Syrian Commission on Financial Markets and Securities.

	Shareholders’ Equity to Credits (%) : = Shareholders’ Equity x 100 / Granted Credits.

	Shareholders’ Equity to Deposits (%) : = Shareholders’ Equity x 100 / Deposits.

	Short Market Value : The total value of all short sales in place in a customer's account at the end of the trading day.

	Stock : A type of security that signifies ownership in a corporation and represents a claim on part of the corporation's assets and earnings.

	Stock Market : The market in which shares are issued and traded either through exchanges or over-the-counter markets. Also known as the , it is one of the most vital areas of a market economy as it provides companies with equity marketaccess to capital and investors with a slice of ownership in the company and the potential of gains based on the company's future performance.

	Stop Limit Order : An order to buy or sell a security when its price surpasses a particular point, thus ensuring a greater probability of achieving a predetermined entry or exit price, limiting the investor's loss or locking in his or her profit. Once the price surpasses the predefined entry/exit point, the stop order becomes a market order.

	Stop Order : An order to buy or sell a security when its price surpasses a particular point, thus ensuring a greater probability of achieving a predetermined entry or exit price, limiting the investor's loss or locking in his or her profit. Once the price surpasses the predefined entry/exit point, the stop order becomes a market order.

	Stop-Loss Order : An order placed with a broker to sell a security when it reaches a certain price. It is designed to limit an investor's loss on a security position.

	Thin Market : A market with few bid and ask offers. The market is characterized by low liquidity, high spreads, and high volatility. Also known as a narrow market.

	Tip from a Dip: Advice from a person who claims to have inside information, such as substantially higher than expected earnings or government approval of corporate mergers, that will materially impact a stock's price but actually doesn't.

	Trade Book : This is an option found in the online trading homepage. Where all the stocks that are ordered and processed are recorded.

	Trading : The activity of buying and selling stocks.

	Turnover / Share (%) : = Value of Shares Traded During the Year x 100 / Market Capitalization at the end of the year.


	Volume : The number of shares or contracts traded in a security or an entire market during a given period of time. It is simply the amount of shares that trade hands from sellers to buyers as a measure of activity. If a buyer of a stock purchases 100 shares from a seller, then the volume for that period increases by 100 shares based on that transaction.


	Yield / Share (%) : = Cash Dividend per share x 100 / Closing Price.