Maintenance margin The minimum margin which an investor must keep on deposit in a margin account at all times.
Make a market A dealer is said to make a market when he or she quotes bid and offer prices at which he or she stands ready to buy and sell.
Mandatory Quote Period On the London Stock Exchange, the period during which all registered market-makers are obliged to display prices. For SEAQ the period is currently 08:30-16:30, and for SEAQ International 09:30-16:00.
Marché a règlement mensuel The monthly settlement market. The major and most heavily traded French securities are traded on this market. Trading is done in lots, with payment and delivery made on the last day of the month.
Marché au comptant The French cash market. All securities on the official list not traded on the monthly settlement market are traded on this market. Cash transactions comprise the least active shares and the great majority of bonds; any quantity may be negotiated for immediate settlement and delivery.
Marché officiel Official list of French Stock Exchanges.
Margin 1) In equity markets, the amount paid by the customer when he/she uses his broker's credit to buy a security. 2) For options the sum required as collateral from the writer of an option. 3) For futures a deposit made to the clearing house on establishing a futures position.
Margin call A demand for additional funds to be deposited in a margin account to meet margin requirements because of adverse future price movements.
Mark to market The daily adjustment of an account to reflect accrued profits and losses.
Market capitalization The current total market value of a company's issued shares. Obtained by multiplying the current market price by the current number of shares in issue.
Market order An order to buy or sell a financial instrument immediately at the best possible price.
Market value The number of shares in issue multiplied by their current market price.
Market-maker A market-maker is a person or firm authorized to create and maintain a market in a security. Market-makers commit themselves to always being ready to deal in the range of stocks for which they are registered.
Maturity date Date on which a bond matures, at which time the face value will be returned to the purchaser. Sometimes the maturity date is not one specified date but a range of dates during which the bond may be repaid.
Maximum On-Line Publication Level On the London Stock Exchange, the maximum size of bargain in each SEAQ security" which will be published on-line on SEAQ, immediately following trade reporting.
Maximum SAEF Size On the London Stock Exchange, the maximum size of bargain in each SEAQ security which can be transacted via SAEF.
Member Firm A trading firm on the London Stock Exchange which may act as an agency broker on behalf of clients or a principal.
Mercato ristretto Italian regulated market for unlisted securities.
Mid-price The price halfway between the two prices shown on the London Stock Exchange's Daily Official List under 'Quotation', or the average of both buying and selling prices offered by the market-makers.
Minimum Quote Size On the London Stock Exchange, the minimum number of shares in which market-makers are obliged to display prices on SEAQ for securities in which they are registered.
Money market fund An open-ended mutual fund that invests in very short-term instruments such as US T-Bills, corporate commercial paper and certificates of deposit of US and foreign banks.
Mutual fund An open-end investment company. Equivalent to unit trust.
Nakadachi Regular members of the Osaka Stock Exchange buy and sell securities on the trading floor through the medium of Nakadachi members who serve as intermediate agents in transactions between members. Nakadachi members are prohibited from trading on their own account.
Namenaktien On German and Swiss exchanges, shares made out in the name of the owner who is entered in the register of shareholders of the company concerned.
NASDAQ National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. The Nasdaq Stock Market is the second largest equity market in the USA. It is screen based, with multiple competing market-makers. The Nasdaq System is the market's electronic communications facility.
Nearby contracts The closest active futures contracts, i.e. those that expire the soonest.
Net asset value The market value of all assets owned by an investment trust minus liabilities. In mutual funds, the market value of a fund share.
New Issue A company coming to the market for the first time or issuing additional new shares.
New Shares Shares newly issued by a company; these shares can usually be transferred on renouncable documents.
Nil Paid A new issue of shares, usually as the result of a rights issue, on which no payment has yet been made.
Nominal quotation 1) Securities. An approximation of a security's market value, given for the purpose of valuation. 2) Futures. An estimated price for a future month or date for which there is no bid, ask or trade price.
Nominee Name Name in which a security is registered and held in trust on behalf of the beneficial owner.
Normal Market Size A value expressed as a number of shares used to calculate the minimum quotation size for UK domestic equities and ADR's traded on the London Stock Exchange. The NMS values, which range from 500 shares to 200,000 shares, are based on each individual stock's average market turnover value in the previous 12 values. All stocks with a NMS size of 2,000 shares or more are deemed alphas while all others are deemed betas.
Odd lot A block of securities bid or offered which is smaller than the standard lot size for that particular security.
Offer for Sale A method of bringing a company to the market. The public can apply for shares directly at a fixed price. A prospectus containing details of the sale must be printed in a national newspaper.
Offer price The price at which a seller is willing to sell. The best offer is the lowest such price available.
Official List The list of securities which have obtained a formal listing on the main market of an exchange.
Offset The closing-out or liquidation of a futures position.
Open interest The total number of outstanding option or futures contracts that have not been closed out by offset or fulfilled by delivery.
Open order An order to buy or sell a security which remains in place until it is either executed or cancelled.
Open outcry A public auction method of trading conducted by calling out bids and offers across a trading ring or pit and having them accepted.
Open range Price (or price range) recorded during the opening period of the market.
Option A contract conferring the right but not the obligation to buy (call) or to sell (put) a specified amount of an instrument at a specified price within a predetermined time period.
Option class All options of the same type - calls or puts listed on the same underlying instrument.
Option series All options of the same class having the same exercise/strike price and expiration date.
Optionspreis German for premium. The price a put or call buyer must pay to a put or call seller for an option contract.
Optionsscheine German for warrant.
Ordinary share The most common form of share or stock. A certificate that represents share ownership in a corporation.
Out trade A trade that cannot be reconciled in the clearing process.
Out-of-the-money A call option is out-of-the money if the price of the underlying instrument is lower than the exercise/strike price. A put option is out-of-the-money if the price of the underlying instrument is above the exercise/strike price. See In-the-money.
Over-the-counter In the USA a market where small capitalization stocks (and some large capitalization stocks as well), shell companies, inactively traded and unregistered stocks trade. The Pink Sheets and the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board - OTCBB - are the only places left in the USA where unregistered stocks trade. See Pink Sheets.
Par 1) Price of 100 per cent. 2) The principal amount at which the issuer of a debt security contracts to redeem at maturity. 3) The nominal value of a security.
Parallelmarkt Parallel Market, introduced at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1982 for bringing smaller and younger companies in contact with a new and larger circle of investors. As from July 1, 1990 the Parallel Market regulations will meet the requirements of the relevant EC regulations.
Partizipationsscheine On Swiss exchanges a bearer security incorporating the same rights as the dividend-right certificate and thus similar to that. It is issued for the purpose of raising capital, and its nominal value is part of the equity of the company.
Payment date The date on which a dividend or bond interest payment is scheduled to be paid.
Penny stocks Low-priced stocks selling, at less than USD 1 a share, often highly speculative.
Perpetual A security without a time limit for redemption.
Pink Sheets A list of securities which are traded by over-the-counter market-makers, published by the National Quotations Bureau; the price quotations for equity securities are published on pink sheets, those of debt securities on yellow sheets.
Pit See Ring.
Portfolio A collection of securities held by an investor.
Preferred ordinary shares See Preferred stock.
Preferred stock Shares that pay dividends at a specified or sometimes adjustable rate and have preference over ordinary shares (common stock) in the payment of dividends and liquidation of assets.
Premium 1) Options, the price a put or call buyer must pay to a put or call seller for an option contract. 2) The amount by which the market price of a bond exceeds its par value.
Price earnings ratio Price of a stock divided by its trailing 12 months earnings.
Principal A dealer who buys or sells stock for his/her own account.
Private Placement An issue that is offered to a single or a few investors as opposed to being publicly offered.
Privatization The conversion of a state run company to public limited company status often accompanied by a sale of its shares to the public.
Prospectus A document giving the details that a company is required to make public, to support a new issue of shares.
Proxy A person empowered by a shareholder to vote on his/her behalf at company meetings.
Put option A put option confers the right but not the obligation to sell stock, shares or futures at the option exercise price within a predetermined time period.
Quotation The price quoted by a market-maker at which he/she will trade.
|
|
|
