Glossary
Search terms as you read market pages and company filings.
Search terms
Market capitalisation (Market cap)
Company value implied by price × shares outstanding (usually based on free-float or total shares depending on context).
Free float
Shares available for public trading, excluding locked-in or promoter holdings (definitions vary by index methodology).
Order book
List of buy (bid) and sell (ask) orders at different prices; “depth” shows quantity across levels.
Bid–ask spread
Difference between the best buy price and best sell price at a given moment.
Volume
How many shares traded during a period; often used as a proxy for liquidity.
Volatility
Magnitude of price fluctuations over time; higher volatility implies larger swings.
Dividend
Cash (or sometimes shares) distributed to shareholders, subject to company policy and approvals.
Corporate action
Events that change shares or ownership terms (split, bonus issue, rights issue, merger, etc.).
Index constituent
A stock included in an index basket, typically under defined eligibility and rebalancing rules.
Limit order
Order that executes at a set price or better; may remain pending if not matched.
Need symbols for examples? See Market data.