Quote |
Price Stop Stop/limit orders, this can be left basis our quote. This means that if our relevant buy or sell quoted price reaches your order level, you will be filled. |
Quoted Currency |
The currency in a foreign exchange deal; the amount of which is equated to one unit of the base currency. |
Range Trading |
A trading strategy in which the trader identifies a FX pair currently trading in a range. The trader buys when the pair finds major support (at the bottom of the range) and sells at major resistance (at the top of the range). Trading is typically repeated at support and resistance until the FX pair breaks out of the range. |
Reserve Currency |
The currency which is most used by governments and institutions for holding cash reserves. Currently, it is the US dollar. |
Resistance |
A price level at which you would expect selling to take place. |
Rights Issue |
An additional issue of shares by the company to existing share holders and at an advantageous, discounted, price. A means for the company to raise new funds for further development or to finance a new acquisition for cash. A two for five rights at 145p means that the existing share holder has the right to acquire a further two shares for every five currently held at a new cost of 145p per share acquired. |
Rollover |
Transferring a trade that is near expiry into the next contract period. |
RSI |
A technical momentum indicator comparing the magnitude of recent gains to recent losses, helping determine overbought and oversold conditions of a FX pair. RSI ranges from 0 to 100. RSI readings above the 70 level indicate that the FX pair may be overbought, while readings below 30 likely point to an oversold FX pair. |
S & P - Standard and Poor's Stock Index |
US performance index of the country's top 500 companies. |
S&P 500 |
Broader index showing the performance of the US top 500 shares. 'S&P' stands for 'Standard and Poors', an international credit rating company |
Screen Price Stop |
Stops/limits can be left basis screen. This means that if the buy or sell in the market reaches your order, you will be filled at our quote at that time. |
Sector |
A distinct subset of a market whose components share similar characteristics. Stocks are often grouped into different sectors depending upon the company's business. For example the FTSE 100 has banking, oil and gas and pharmaceutical sectors. |
Securities |
The general name given to stocks and shares issued by the company to investors (also referred to as 'equities') |
Sell/Go Short |
Placing a trade if you think the market price will fall. |
Selling Short |
This is practice of selling shares that you do not own in the hope that the share price falls before you have to settle the contract. If the price does fall you can then buy the shares at the lower price and pocket the difference. |
Shares |
Also known as equities, stocks, holdings or securities, indicate ownership of part of a company. |
Short |
A market position where the client has sold a currency or security he or she does not already own, in anticipation that it will decrease (depreciate) in value. For example, a trader who has sold 100,000 EUR against the USD is short the EUR versus the USD. The euro is expected to decline in value in relation to the USD in this scenario. |
Simple Moving Average |
A simple, or arithmetic, moving average can be calculated by adding the FX pair’s closing exchange rate for a number of time periods and then dividing this sum by the number of periods. The SMA is essentially the average FX pair exchange rate over a time period. Equal weighting is applied to each exchange rate used in the calculation. |
Speculative Attack |
Currencies that are identified by sophisticated speculators as trading within an artificially high or low range are prone to be attacked. Speculative attacks may succeed in bringing the currency value back in line with intrinsic value (as determined by fundamental and/or technical analyses) should sufficient numbers of influential market participants decide to overwhelm current government-supported positions. |
Speculator |
A sophisticated individual who trades with significant leverage, taking on above average risk in hopes of above average returns. |
Spot |
The FX contract is based on an instantaneous price and the settlement date is two business days forward. |
Spread |
The difference between the marketmaker’s bid and offer price for a currency. |
Spread Betting |
A type of bet that gives investors the chance of making unlimited winnings (and losses), in contrast to the conventional fixed-odds type of bet, where the potential winnings and losses are known before the event. They generally quote spreads wider than the market. Share CFDs are a more sophisticated way of trading. |
Square |
Where a client has not traded in that currency or where an earlier deal is reversed, thereby creating a neutral (flat, square) position. For example: bought $100,000 then sold $100,000 = SQUARE. Also known as flat. |
Stake |
Bet size per tick on any of the financial markets that we offer. |
Stock Exchange Automated Quotations (SEAQ) |
Used for the UK equity market. Screens are continually updated for prices and trade reports. |
Stock Exchange Electronic Trading System (SETS) |
Order driven electronic trading system employed to deal in the FTSE 100, ex FTSE 100 and reserve UK equities. |
Stockbroker |
An exchange member firm which provides advice and dealing services to the public as well as trading on its own account. |
Stop loss Order |
Stop orders can be used to enter or exit the market. Stop loss orders are used to close out existing open positions. Stop loss orders can be used to limit your trading risk and are an essential part of disciplined trading. Stops are used so that should the market move against you, you are automatically taken out of a position, effectively limiting your loss. Stop losses can also be used to lock in profit. As the market moves in your favour you can move your stop order up with the prevailing price, locking in profit or minimizing losses, if the market suddenly moves against you. This is known as a trailing stop. |
Support Level |
A price level at which you would expect buying to take place. |
techMARK |
This market groups together technology companies from across the market. It has its own indices, the FTSE techMARK 100 and the FTSE techMARK All Share. |
Technical Analysis |
Analysis of market movements based chart study, moving averages, volume, open interest, formations, and other technical indicators. |
Tick size |
The minimum point movement in each market, for example 'the FTSE has moved 10 ticks' this equates to a 10 index point move in the FTSE. |
Tom Next |
A transaction with value dates for tomorrow against the next day. |
Transparent |
A description of a market where traders have full immediate knowledge of the details of trades taking place. |
Treasury |
A bond issued by Government. Bonds issued by the UK government are called gilt edged stock , commonly referred to as gilts. |
Trend Lines |
These lines are drawn to illustrate the broader direction of the FX pair. Trend lines can vary in length, applying to either the short, intermediate or long term. Trend lines are used by trend traders to help identify support and resistance, and to caution against taking any countertrend positions. |
Trend Trading |
A trend trader strives to profit by taking a position in a FX pair in the direction of the pair’s momentum. A long position is entered when a FX pair is trending upward (higher highs and higher lows), while a short position is taken when the stock is trending down (lower highs and lower lows). Trend traders stay in their position until the trend breaks. |
Underlying |
Is the security or commodity that is delivered or being traded when dealing in futures or options. |
Underlying Currency |
Currency which forms the basis of a contract and, hence, is bought or sold when the contract is exercised. |
Value Date |
Settlement date of a spot or forward deal. |
Value Spot |
The settlement value upon two business days. This settlement date is always used in the interbank cash market, unless otherwise requested by the client. |
Variation margin |
The deposit/available credit needed on your account in order to keep your positions open taking into account the daily movement of the markets. |
Volatility |
How quickly the price of a security rises and falls over time. A highly volatile share can be risky for short-term investors who stand a greater chance of buying at a peak and selling in a trough at a loss. The US VIX index is a common measure of volatility. |
Yield |
The return earned on an investment taking into account the annual income and its present value. There are a number of different types of yield, and in some cases different methods of calculating each type. |
Yield Curve |
A series of interest rates plotted against the time to maturity, to which they apply. |
Indices
