Spread

A metric indicating the relationship between a stock’s price relative to the whole market’s movement. If a stock has a beta measuring 1.5, this means the when the market moves 1 point, this stock moves 1.5 points, and vice versa.

A proportion of the earnings of a company that is paid out to its shareholders, the people who own their stock. These dividends are paid out either quarterly (four times per year) or annually (once per year). Not every company pays its shareholders dividends. For example, companies that offer penny stocks likely don’t pay dividends.

This is the at which an exchange closes and trading stops. Regular trading hours for the NASDAQ and the NYSE are from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. After-hours trading continues until 8 p.m.

This is a term used to describe the stock market when it is moving in a downwards trend. In other words, when the prices of stocks are falling. If a stock price falls deep and fast, it’s considered very bearish.

This when traders buy and sell within a day. Day trading is a common trading strategy. However, if someone day trades, they may also make long term investments as well (a long-term portfolio). The following two terms only apply to share trading:

Margin is the money that is retained in the trading account when opening a trade. However, because the average “Retail Forex Trader” lacks the necessary margin to trade at a volume high enough to make a good profit, many Forex brokers offer their clients access to leverage.