TradingForFuture · Knowledge

Stock Market Glossary

Explore more than 400 curated terms for investors, traders and long-term savers. Detailed definitions, practical context and no marketing jargon — from your first ETF savings plan to option strategies.

Updated: October 9, 2026

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Stock Market Glossary

A Terms beginning with A

Accrued interest

Interest accumulated since the last coupon date and included in a bond trade.

Accumulating

Fund/ETF variant that automatically reinvests distributions.

Accumulation

Phase in which large market participants build up positions inconspicuously.

Ad hoc announcement

Prompt publication of price-sensitive information by a listed issuer.

Additional-margin obligation

Obligation to provide extra capital or collateral for certain financial transactions.

ADR

Depositary receipt that can make foreign shares tradable on another market.

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Stock Market Glossary

B Terms beginning with B

Backtest

Testing a trading strategy on historical price data.

Backwardation

Futures-market situation in which later contracts can trade below near-term contracts.

BaFin

Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.

Balance sheet

Statement of a company’s assets and capital at a reporting date.

Basis risk

Risk that a hedge and the position being hedged develop differently.

Bear market

Market phase with significantly falling prices, usually more than 20 percent from the high.

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Stock Market Glossary

C Terms beginning with C

Call option

Option right that can benefit economically from a rising underlying price.

Calmar ratio

Ratio of annualized return to maximum drawdown.

Candlestick

Technical chart representation with opening, closing, high and low prices of a period.

Capex

Capital Expenditures – Investments in long-term assets.

Capital gains tax

Direct tax on capital gains, part of the withholding tax in Germany.

Capital increase

Issue of new shares through which a company raises additional equity.

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Stock Market Glossary

D Terms beginning with D

DAX

DAX explained: composition, calculation and relevance as Germany’s leading stock index, with a practical investor example.

Day trader

Trader who holds positions exclusively within one trading day.

Day trading

Trading style with position opening and closing on the same day.

Deflation

Continuing falling price levels that can paralyze consumption and investments.

Delta

Option metric that approximates how an option reacts to a move in its underlying asset.

Deposit insurance

Protection for bank deposits within statutory or voluntary protection schemes.

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Stock Market Glossary

E Terms beginning with E

Earnings

A company's earnings report, often on a quarterly basis.

Earnings Surprise

Difference between reported earnings and analysts' consensus estimate.

EBITDA

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

ECB

European Central Bank – responsible for monetary policy in the euro area.

ECB key interest rate

Central control interest rate of the European Central Bank.

Economic calendar

Overview of upcoming economic indicators and central bank appointments.

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Stock Market Glossary

F Terms beginning with F

Face value

Nominal amount shown on a security.

Factor investing

Investment style that specifically exploits academically proven return factors.

Fair Value Gap

Price area where a quick impulse has left little counter-trading.

Fibonacci retracement

Chart technical tool for determining possible supports and resistances.

FOMO

Fear Of Missing Out – Fear of missing out on a chance to win.

Foreign exchange

Claims on foreign currency in the form of non-cash means of payment.

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Stock Market Glossary

G Terms beginning with G

Gamma Squeeze

Price acceleration because options traders have to dynamically repurchase their protection.

Gap

Price gap in the chart between two consecutive periods.

GDR

Global Depositary Receipt – international counterpart to the ADR.

General meeting

Meeting of shareholders that votes on central corporate matters.

Going private

Withdrawal of a stock corporation from the stock exchange.

Gold standard

Historical monetary system in which currencies were backed by gold.

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Stock Market Glossary

H Terms beginning with H

Haircut

Safety discount applied to the market value of collateral.

Hedging

Hedging a position against unwanted price movements.

Heikin Ashi

Smoothed candlestick variant that makes trends visually clearer.

High yield

Bonds with a low credit rating but a higher coupon.

High-water mark

Fee rule under which a performance fee should arise only above a previous peak.

Hit rate

Proportion of winning trades out of all completed trades.

Stock Market Glossary

I Terms beginning with I

Ichimoku

Complex Japanese trend indicator with cloud, baselines and lag line.

iNAV

Indicative net asset value of an ETF, estimated continuously during the trading day.

Index ETF

ETF that tracks an index as closely as possible.

Index funds

Fund that passively tracks an index.

Industry

Economic sector to which a company is assigned (e.g. tech, pharmaceuticals, finance).

Inflation

General increase in the price level, which reduces the purchasing power of money.

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Stock Market Glossary

J Terms beginning with J

Junk bond

Bond with a rating below investment grade.

Stock Market Glossary

K Terms beginning with K

KBV

Price-to-book value ratio – ratio of price to balance sheet equity per share.

Kelly criterion

Mathematical formula for optimal position sizing determination.

KIID

Key Investor Information Document – mandatory document for fund investors.

Knock out

Leverage product that becomes worthless as soon as a threshold is reached.

Stock Market Glossary

L Terms beginning with L

Lay

Time lag of an indicator compared to the price.

Letter course

Synonym for the ask price (Ask).

Lever

Multiplier with which invested capital controls a larger market position.

Limit order

Order that is only executed at a specific price or better.

Liquidity

Measure of how quickly an asset can be traded without a significant price discount.

Liquidity sweep

Short price surge above highs or below lows to trigger liquidity there.

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Stock Market Glossary

M Terms beginning with M

MACD

Moving Average Convergence Divergence – Trend Following and Momentum Indicator.

Margin

Deposited security for leveraged positions.

Margin call

Request from the broker to provide additional collateral.

Market breadth

Market breadth explained: how many shares support a trend and why advance-decline data can matter to investors.

Market capitalization

Market value of a company: share price × number of shares outstanding.

Market depth

Distribution of available buy and sell orders across several price levels in an order book.

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Stock Market Glossary

N Terms beginning with N

NASDAQ

US technology exchange and namesake of well-known indices such as NASDAQ 100.

NAV discount

Discount at which closed funds or investment companies trade below their net asset value.

Net asset value

Net asset value of a fund per share.

Net asset value

Fund assets less liabilities, generally stated per fund unit.

Net return

Return after all costs and taxes.

Stock Market Glossary

O Terms beginning with O

OCO order

Order combination in which the execution of one order automatically deletes the other.

Open interest

Number of open options or futures contracts that have not yet been closed out.

Open-End Fund

Open-ended fund whose shares can be issued or redeemed at any time.

Opening Range

Price range of the first minutes of trading as a reference for intraday trades.

Opex

Operating Expenditures – ongoing operating costs of a company.

option

Right (not obligation) to buy or sell an underlying asset at a set price.

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Stock Market Glossary

P Terms beginning with P

P/E ratio

English synonym for P/E ratio.

P/E ratio

Price-to-earnings ratio – how many annual earnings the current share price costs.

P2P lending

Direct lending between private individuals via online platforms.

Partial exit

Closing part of the position while allowing the rest to continue.

Partial tax exemption

Partial tax relief for certain investment-fund income under German tax law.

Passbook

Classic German savings account with a low interest rate.

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Stock Market Glossary

Q Terms beginning with Q

Quantitative easing

Monetary policy instrument in which central banks purchase bonds on a large scale.

Quantitative tightening

Reversal of QE: Central banks reduce their bond holdings.

Quarterly report

Quarterly annual report of listed companies.

Stock Market Glossary

R Terms beginning with R

R multiple

A measure that expresses the profit or loss of a trade in units of initial risk.

Rating

Credit rating of debtors by specialized agencies.

raw materials

Asset class made up of physical goods such as oil, gold, industrial metals or agricultural products.

Real economy

Sector of the economy in which real goods and services are produced.

Real interest rate

Nominal interest rate minus the inflation rate.

Rebalancing

Restoration of original portfolio weights.

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Stock Market Glossary

S Terms beginning with S

S&P 500

Broad US equity index of 500 large publicly listed companies.

Saver’s flat rate

Tax allowance for capital gains.

Savings plan

Regular automated investment of fixed amounts.

Sector rotation

Shifting capital between industries depending on the phase of the economy.

Securities identification number (WKN)

Six-digit code for unique identification of a security in the DACH region.

Securities lending

Temporary lending of securities in return for a fee and collateral.

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Stock Market Glossary

T Terms beginning with T

Take profit

Pre-defined profit target at which a position is automatically closed.

Takeover offer

Public offer to purchase a majority stake in a listed company.

Tax-exemption order

Instruction to a German bank not to withhold tax on investment income up to the statutory allowance.

Technical analysis

Evaluation of charts, patterns and indicators to predict price movements.

TER

Total Expense Ratio – total expense ratio of a fund or ETF.

Term deposit

Bank deposit with a fixed term and agreed interest rate.

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Stock Market Glossary

U Terms beginning with U

UCITS

EU legal framework for regulated investment funds approved for private investors.

UCITS

EU-regulated undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities.

Underlying

English term for the underlying asset of a derivative.

Underlying value

Asset to which a derivative or certificate relates.

Stock Market Glossary

V Terms beginning with V

Value

Investment style with a focus on inexpensive value stocks.

Value date

Date from which a credit or debit is economically effective for interest or settlement.

VaR

Value at Risk – statistical maximum loss estimate with a given probability.

Vega

Option measure for sensitivity to implied volatility.

Volatility

Range of fluctuation in an asset, often measured as a standard deviation.

Volume

Number of shares of a security traded in a certain period of time.

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Stock Market Glossary

W Terms beginning with W

WACC

Weighted Average Cost of Capital – a company’s weighted cost of capital.

Warrant

Security issued by an institution whose value depends on an underlying asset.

Watchlist

List of observed securities without an investment decision.

Wealth building

Systematic buildup of fixed assets over years and decades.

Whipsaw

Quick trend change that repeatedly stops trend-following strategies.

Withdrawal plan

Regular withdrawal of money from a fund, ETF or portfolio under a defined rule.

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Stock Market Glossary

X Terms beginning with X

XETRA

Fully electronic trading system from Deutsche Börse.

Stock Market Glossary

Y Terms beginning with Y

Yield

The rate of return of a security, often expressed as a dividend or bond yield.

Yield curve

English name for the yield curve.

Yield curve

Graphical representation of the returns of bonds of different lengths.

Yield to maturity

Total return of a bond to redemption, including price, coupon and maturity.

Young shares

Shares from a current capital increase with possibly limited dividend entitlement.

Stock Market Glossary

Z Terms beginning with Z

Zero-coupon bond

Bond without regular coupon payments that repays its face value at maturity.