The Box – Where the action is. Your life line. Know everything going on in there.
The Bid – The price that people are willing to buy the stock at. On the left side of the box.
The Ask (or Offer) – The price that people are willing to sell the stock at. On the right side of the box.
Spread – The difference between the bid and the ask.
High bid – When a market maker, ECN, or NYSE go to the bid and indicates a higher price than the current bid. If this is repeated, take serious note.
Low offer - When a market maker, ECN, or NYSE goes to the offer and indicates the lowest price. If this is repeated, take serious note.
Inside market – Where the stock is trading. The highest bid and the lowest offer together make up the inside.
Hold the bid – When a market maker, ECN, or NYSE stays on the bid and continues to buy stock. Is a strong buy signal.
Hold the offer – When a market maker, ECN, or NYSE stays on the offer and continues to sell stock. Is a strong sell signal.
Market maker – The firms you’ve heard of. Have much more buying power than us. Examples are Goldman Sachs (GSCO) and Morgan Stanley (MSCO).
ECN – Electronic Communications Network - What we use to trade. Examples are NSDQ, EDGX, BATS, and BTRD.
SDOT – Same as NYSE. Executes orders directly to the specialist.
Refreshing ECN– When an ECN continues to buy or sell stock even after the size that was initially indicated has been exhausted.
The Man – The guy running a stock at that particular time. Can be an ECN or a market maker. IMPORTANT: Market makers can also use ECN’s to trade.
Underlying – The bids and offers underneath the inside ones.
Volume – Total number of shares traded as of that point in the day.
Time and Sales (or Prints) – The list of trades that have been executed. Tells you the price the trade went off at and the number of shares that were traded.
