| Scalper or Day Trader | |
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a short-term trader who buys and sells throughout the day in order to profit from small price in a security. |
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| Screen price | |
| the price of the underlying security in the cash market. As opposed to quote price. | |
| Screen Quote | |
| orders and stops may be left based on when the underlying market trades at a price, confirmation of which appears on the dealer screens. | |
| Scrip issue | |
| shares are split or bonus shares are offered to reduce the current share price and improve liquidity/marketability. | |
| Sell bet | |
| a bet that will be profitable for every tick that the price falls. Also called a down bet or going short. | |
| SETS | |
| the Stock Exchange Electronic Trading Service. | |
| SEAQ | |
| the Stock Exchange Automated Quotations system for UK securities which displays market maker quotations. | |
| Settlement price | |
| the price at which a bet is closed. For financial markets this maybe based on an official exchange price. | |
| Securities | |
| A general term for stocks and shares. | |
| Share certificate | |
| An official document issued by the company stating the name of the shareholder and the number of shares owned. | |
| Share perks | |
| A number of companies give benefits to their shareholders. These include discounts on wine, clothes, holidays, dry-cleaning and light fittings. | |
| Shorts | |
| Government stock due for repayment within five years. | |
| Shorting | |
| Having a 'down bet' in a market. A strategy of selling a share you don't yet own at an agreed price level, in the belief that the price will fall before completing the deal, allowing you to make a profit. In practice, short-selling is generally not an option offered to private investors in the UK as it requires the 'lending' of shares by brokers. Spread bets make it easy, though, as the spreadbetting companies carry out the necessary share transactions. | |
| Slippage | |
| Slippage is an unpleasant word for an unpleasant event. It's the experience of not getting filled at (or even very close to...) your expected price when you place a market order. This can happen because either: market price is simply moving too fast, the market is not liquid or you're talking to an unmotivated broker. Or, of course, all three. In spread betting this can occur if the market closes just short of your stop level and then opens up the next day a long way through you will be stopped out at the level that the market opens up at the next day and not at your stop level. | |
| Special dividend | |
| A return of capital to shareholders outside the normal dividend schedules. | |
| Spot | |
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The purchase and sale of a foreign currency or commodity for immediate delivery. Or "cash" is where the actual underlying market is trading (spot = prevailing market price at this moment in time) |
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| Spread | |
| The difference between the two prices quoted by the spread betting company i.e. the lower 'bid' price and the higher 'offer' price. In other words the difference between the buying and the selling price. Or a variety of investments. | |
| Spread trading | |
| a term used in the US to refer to spread betting. | |
| Support | |
| a term used to describe the bottom of a stock's trading range. | |
| Stag | |
| Someone who applies for shares in a new issue with the intention of selling them immediately at a profit. | |
| Stale bull | |
| Someone who has bought shares in anticipation of a quick rise which has not materialised. | |
| Stamp duty | |
| a tax on foreign or share market transactions, usually a percentage of the total transaction amount. | |
| Stock Markets | |
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There are three stockmarkets in the UK. The main one is the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which lists more than 900 companies. Companies quoted on this stockmarket must comply with strict rules in terms of size, how long they have been operating and how they are run. The Alternative Investment Market (AIM) was launched in 1995 for companies that don't meet all the criteria for an LSE listing. It is the first rung on the publicly quoted ladder for small, growing companies but, as these organisations are less developed, AIM shares tend to be riskier than those on the LSE. There are 700 companies listed on AIM. The third is Ofex, short for 'off exchange'. Also launched in 1995, this is for unquoted companies that have issued shares. There are currently 150 companies trading on Ofex. Because of their size and the scarcity of information published about them, Ofex is the riskiest market in the UK. |
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| Stop-loss | |
| a pre-determined level at which a bet is closed to limit the loss on that bet if the price moves against you. See guaranteed stop-loss | |
| Stopped Out | |
| When the bookmaker's quote hits the specific stop-loss level you placed. | |
| Straddles | |
| an option strategy involving one call and one put with the same strike and same expiry date. | |
| Strangle | |
| an option strategy involving a call and a put with different strike and same expiry. Terms Specifically Relating To Single Stocks Trading. | |
| Striking price | |
| The price at which an option is granted. See Options. | |
| Stop loss | |
| a way of limiting losses on shares or spread bets. You simply tell your broker or spread betting company that if a share price falls to a certain level, your shares or your spread bet must be sold, no matter what. A stop-loss can specified in percentage terms or in price terms. For example, you can either set the stop loss at 10 per cent below the price you paid, or at 90p if you bought at 100p. | |
| Striking price | |
| The price at which an option is granted. See Options. | |
| Sunk Cost | |
| Sunk cost is an expression representing the unrecoverable amount of money that has already been placed into an ongoing investment or project. It is one of the simplest, yet most commonly misused financial measurements of a project. More information on Sunk Cost is available here | |
| Sweetener | |
| A high-yielding stock or share included in a portfolio to raise the average yield overall. | |
| Switch | |
| The purchase and sale of investments carried out at the same time to change the composition of the portfolio | |
| Take-Over | |
| One company obtaining control of another by obtaining a majority of the voting shares | |
| Tap stock | |
| Government stock offered for sale by the Government, sometimes to influence the price. | |
| Technical analysis | |
| a method of evaluating securities by analyzing statistics generated by market activity, such as past prices and volume. Charts are often used as a tool to show patterns that can suggest future trends. As opposed to fundamental analysis. | |
| Tender | |
| An issue of stocks or shares where prospective buyers specify the price they are willing to pay. The shares are then offered to the highest bidders. | |
| Tenth | |
| a specific term used by Finance and Sports traders to indicate the bet is based on a tenth of a point in the underlying market. | |
| Tick | |
| the smallest possible movement (up or down) in the price of a security. | |
| Tokyo Stock Exchange | |
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The Tokyo Stock Exchange opens at midnight UK time and is the second-largest equity market in the world by capitalisation, with a value of $4.4 trillion. There are almost 2,400 stocks listed on the exchange with the largest sectors being electrical appliances, banks and transportation equipment. Well-known constituents include Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Sony and Sanyo. In terms of the market indices, the most widely quoted is the Nikkei-225 Stock Average, which comprises the 225 top-rated Japanese companies listed in the First Section of the TSE. It is unusual in that it is a price-weighted index, which means that the higher-priced constituents have a greater percentage impact than lower-priced ones. After the boom of the 1980s the Nikkei went through a prolonged bear market as the economy fell into a severe recession. Numerous false dawns followed but 2003 seems to have marked the turning point, in part due to en extensive package of economic and corporate reforms. Japan is an infrastructure supplier to the world and its economic recovery owes much to the rejuvenation of investment levels in areas such as steel, plant engineering, oil refining, mining equipment and shipping. Linked in to this is the fact that it is heavily-geared into China's economy, with around 50% of the country's exports now going to the Asia/China region. The Nikkei rose strongly in 2005 when it gained almost 50% and despite the volatility of 2006 many expert commentators believe that the country is in the middle of a long-term bull market. Note that just because a stock market closes doesn't necessarily mean that the associated equity index futures contracts can no longer be traded. For example, the Nikkei 225 contracts can be bought and sold on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for most of the time that the Tokyo Stock Exchange is closed. [Source: Shares Magazine] |
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| Trading resources | |
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a combination of your cash balance, available credit, open profit or loss positions and initial margin. |
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| Trading tools | |
| aids to spot possible trends. Charts and market news are examples of trading tools. | |
| TSE | |
| Tokyo Stock Exchange | |
| Underlying instrument | |
| 1. In options, the security that must be delivered if a put or call option is exercised. 2. In equities , the common stock that underlies certain types of securities such as warrants and convertible bonds. | |
| Underwriter | |
| Someone, usually a city institution, who agrees to buy any shares in a new issue not purchased by the public. | |
| Unit trust | |
| A portfolio of various investments divided into units and managed by professionals. The value of the units does not depend on supply and demand but on the underlying value of the portfolio. | |
| Universal Stock Futures | |
| futures contracts on individual equities. These are traded on Euronext.LIFFE. | |
| Unsecured loan stock | |
| A fixed interest stock not secured by assets. | |
| Up bet | |
| a bet that will be profitable for every tick that a price rises. Also called a buy or going long. As opposed to a down bet. |