Stock Market Glossary

The highest and lowest price a stock has traded at over the past year. New highs signal strength; new lows signal weakness.

Trading that happens after the regular session closes (4:00 pm ET), usually with lower volume and wider spreads.

The lowest price a seller is currently willing to accept for a stock.

The angle between two planets as seen from Earth, such as a conjunction (0°), square (90°) or opposition (180°). Financial astrologers watch hard aspects for volatility.

How a portfolio is split between asset classes such as stocks, bonds, gold and cash.

A decline of 20% or more from a recent high, usually lasting months, with widespread pessimism.

How much a stock moves relative to the market. A beta of 1.5 means it tends to move 50% more than the S&P 500.

The highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay for a stock.

The gap between the bid and ask. Narrow spreads mean a liquid stock; wide spreads add hidden cost.

A large, well-established company with a long record of stable earnings, such as Apple or Johnson & Johnson.

A company's assets minus its liabilities: what shareholders would theoretically get if it were liquidated.

When price moves above resistance or below support, often on higher volume, signalling a possible new trend.

A sustained rise in prices, commonly defined as a 20% gain from a recent low.

A chart bar showing a period's open, high, low and close. The body is open-to-close; the wicks show the extremes.

The profit from selling an investment for more than you paid. Taxed differently for short- and long-term holdings.

An automatic trading halt triggered when an index falls by a set percentage in one day.

Two planets at the same zodiac degree. Major conjunctions, such as Jupiter–Saturn, are linked to the start of new economic cycles.

A drop of 10–20% from a recent high. Corrections are common and happen in most years.

An order that expires automatically if it isn't filled by the end of the trading day.

A brief recovery in a falling stock that is followed by further decline.

Spreading money across different stocks, sectors and assets so one loss doesn't sink the portfolio.

A share of company profits paid to shareholders, usually quarterly.

Annual dividend per share divided by the share price, shown as a percentage.

Investing a fixed amount at regular intervals regardless of price, which smooths your average entry cost.

Net profit divided by shares outstanding. The 'E' in the P/E ratio.

When the Sun, Moon and Earth align. Financial astrologers associate eclipse seasons with sharp turning points.

Exchange-traded fund: a basket of securities that trades on an exchange like a single stock, usually tracking an index.

The cut-off date: buy before it to receive the next dividend; buy on or after it and you won't.

The number of shares available for public trading, excluding those held by insiders.

Valuing a stock by studying the business: revenue, profits, debt, cash flow and competitive position.

When a stock opens well above or below the previous close, leaving an empty space on the chart.

When the 50-day moving average crosses above the 200-day average; widely read as bullish. The opposite is a death cross.

A company expected to grow earnings faster than average, often with a high P/E and little or no dividend.

A position taken to offset the risk of another, such as buying put options against a stock you own.

A measure of a group of stocks, such as the S&P 500 or Nasdaq-100, used to track the market.

A planet's entry into a new zodiac sign. Slow-planet ingresses are used to frame multi-year sector themes.

Initial public offering: when a private company first sells shares to the public.

An order to buy or sell only at a set price or better. It protects price but may not fill.

How easily a stock can be bought or sold without moving its price.

Owning a stock in the expectation that its price will rise.

Borrowing money from a broker to buy securities. It magnifies both gains and losses.

Share price × shares outstanding: the total market value of a company.

An order to buy or sell immediately at the best available price.

A period, about three times a year, when Mercury appears to move backwards. Linked by astrologers to miscommunication, delays and reversals.

The average price over a set number of periods, used to smooth noise and identify trend.

A pooled investment managed by professionals, priced once a day after the market closes.

One of 27 lunar mansions in Vedic astrology, each spanning 13°20′. Used in timing market entries.

Two planets 180° apart. Seen as a point of maximum tension or culmination.

Contracts giving the right, but not the obligation, to buy (call) or sell (put) at a set price before a date.

When a stock has risen (or fallen) so fast that a pause is likely. Often measured with RSI above 70 or below 30.

Price-to-earnings: share price divided by EPS. Shows how much investors pay for each dollar of profit.

A stock trading below $5, usually small, thinly traded and highly speculative.

The full collection of investments a person or fund holds.

Trading before the regular session opens at 9:30 am ET.

Today's volume divided by the average volume. Above 2× is considered unusual.

A price level where selling has repeatedly stopped advances.

The apparent backward motion of a planet from Earth's viewpoint. Retrogrades of slow planets mark periods of review.

Return on equity: net income divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how well a company uses investors' money.

Relative Strength Index: a 0–100 momentum indicator comparing recent gains with recent losses.

A group of companies in the same part of the economy, such as Technology, Energy or Financials.

Borrowing shares and selling them, hoping to buy them back cheaper later. Losses are theoretically unlimited.

Two planets 90° apart, traditionally associated with friction and sudden market moves.

An order that sells automatically if price falls to a set level, limiting the loss.

A price level where buying has repeatedly stopped declines.

Forecasting price moves from charts, patterns, volume and indicators rather than business fundamentals.

The short code used to identify a stock, such as AAPL for Apple.

The current movement of a planet relative to a natal or reference chart, such as a stock's IPO chart.

A stock trading cheaply relative to its earnings, book value or dividends.

How much and how quickly a price moves. Measured for the market by the VIX index.

The number of shares traded in a period. Rising volume confirms the strength of a move.

The income an investment pays as a percentage of its price, such as a dividend or bond yield.