Spread Betting Glossary


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  Names Individual
Members of the Lloyd's of London market who have unlimited liabilities (see Equitas).
  NASDAQ 100
The US high-tech market. aka NDAQ100, this is an index of the 100 largest technology companies in the US, as measured by market capitalisation.
  NASDAQ Composite
an index of all stocks listed on the US Stock Exchange. This index is mainly used to track technology stocks and hence is not a good indicator of the whole market. See the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index. More information available here
  Net asset value
Value of a funds' investments or a property company's assets. Normally expressed on a per share basis. This is the value of a company after all debts have been paid expressed in pence per share. The 'NAV per share' is a company's NAV divided by how many shares it has outstanding.
  Net profit margin
Measures the profitability of sales. It also gives you an idea of costs. The company with the highest net profit margin will be the lowest cost operator.

Net profit margin = Net profit / Revenue

Note: Net profit margin is also called 'net margin'.
  New issue
A new issue is exactly what it says, ie. a share in a company which is about to be, or has just been issued, on the stock market. There are not so many new, popular issues now as there were during the 1980's heyday with the many privatisations but still a good many, many of which are too minor to be heard about in the press. Some financial bookmakers take bets on these shares, either before, during or just after they have been launched.

The difficulty with new issues is that they are notoriously difficult to predict. Many new issues are under priced at launch and skyrocket on the first day of trading, while a few are overpriced. Others rise dramatically before crashing. To successfully bet on these you need close knowledge of the company and its prospects. If you do, it is possible to do very well with new issues.
  New order
An order to open a new trade at a price that has not yet been reached. The new order will only be triggered if the specified trade price is reached at some point in the future. A new order is an order that is not attached to any existing open position and is independent of any other trade.
  New York Stock Exchange
America's leading bourse. The New York Stock Exchange is the largest equities marketplace in the world by value and lists in excess of 2,200 companies. These are required to release any announcements such as their annual and interim figures before the market opens and in many cases this news will break between midday and 1.00pm in the UK.

Significant corporate news from the US can have an immediate impact in London and Continental Europe and will affect the share prices in New York once the market opens at 2.00pm. Such is the importance of the American markets that they have a huge influence over what is happening on this side of the Atlantic. Very often, a positive or negative start in London will turn around at this time of day in response to news coming out of the US. Traders with open positionsneed to be especially mindful of the risks. [Source: Shares Magazine]
  Nifty Fifty
A popular spread-betting contract covering 50 Indian large caps.
  Nikkei
index of 225 leading stocks traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Can be spread traded as well like most other indexes.
  Noise
Normal day-to-day up and down market movements. Price and volume fluctuations outside the norm which do not provide meaningful or useful information on a market's direction.
  Nominee
Someone acting on another's behalf. Shares may be registered in the name of a nominee rather than in your own name to allow the nominee to manage them for you (i.e. deal with rights issues etc.). This service can be very useful if you live abroad or are often away from home. Banks sometimes insist that you transfer your shares into the name of their nominee company if you offer them as security for a loan. The bank is then able to sell the shares if you fail to repay the loan.
  Nominal value
The face value of a share or stock as opposed to its market value, also called par value.
  Non-executive Director
Independent members of the board.
  Nonfarm Payrolls
American Nonfarm Payrolls (NFPs) is an indicator of the state of the USA economy (relates to job losses or creations) and is a number that can have a marked effect on the markets so it is useful to ensure you know the expected numbers versus the actual numbers (especially relevant to short-term traders). The figure is announced on the first Friday of the month, at 13:30 UK time (equivalent to 08:30 in the USA) and covers the previous month.
  Normal Market Size
The amount of shares that can be traded at the current market price. This is calculated on the previous year's average daily turnover of each individual stock - currently 2.5% of the total volume of shares for each company. Market makers are not obliged to provide a quote for a transaction above the Normal Market Size.
  Notional trading margin
a fixed trading margin for bets that are not on shares.
  Notional trading requirement (NTR)
the level of funds required to be held with the spread betting firm at the opening of a trade. This amount is based upon market volatility.

A deposit is required before any client can make a bet. This money must in the clients spread betting account in order to cover any potential losses. The amount required to have in your spread betting account to cover a trade varies depending on the financial instrument. Usually however the requirement is for 5%-25% of the total value of the position. Each position has an IMR(Initial Margin Requirement) value, which represents the deposit required for a 1 EURO (or GBP or USD) bet. Multiplying the IMR by the particular stake you wish to trade will indicate the deposit amount required for that trade. Also called margin required.

For example:

The IMR for the Hang Seng Index is 250. Therefore if you where to Buy the Hang Seng for 5 euro per point you must maintain a balance of at least 250*5 = 1250 Euro in your account.
  NMS
NMS or "normal market size" as defined by the London Stock Exchange for each stock and may be used to determine when a trade is required to be reported.
  NYMEX
The New York Mercantile Exchange.
  NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange.