It’s essential for all traders to understand and remember the basic terminology. However because a lot of the basic terms are acronyms it can be a confusing task.
Even experienced traders may find this glossary useful as a refresher or resource to print out and check when they don’t remember something.
BetterTrader has created this glossary to help traders clarify and memorize basic concepts. Please note that the glossary is presented in alphabetical order.
Currency Symbols For Different Countries
Currencies
| AUD - Australian Dollar |
|---|
| BRL - Brazilian Real |
| CAD - Canadian Dollar |
| CHF - Swiss Franc |
| CNY - Chinese Yen |
| EUR - Euro |
| GBP - Great British Pound |
| ILS - Israeli Shekel |
| JPY - Japanese Yen |
| RUB - Russian Ruble |
| USD - United States Dollar |
General Economic Terms
General Terms
| API | American Petroleum Institute |
|---|---|
| BCO | Brent Crude Oil |
| CB | Conference Board |
| CS HPI | Case-Shiller House Price Index |
| CFTC | Commodity Futures Trading Commission |
| CPI | Consumer Price Index |
| FOMC | Federal Open Market Committee |
| GDP | Gross Domestic Product |
| GFK | Germany's largest market research institute |
| HICP | Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (more information) |
| ISM | Institute of Supply Management |
| MoM | Month Over Month (more information) |
| PMI | Purchasing Managers’ Index |
| QoQ | Quarter over Quarter (more information) |
| RMPI | Raw Materials Price Index |
| WTI | West Texas Intermediate |
| YoY | Year Over Year (more information) |
| HPI | House Price Index |
| PCE | Personal Consumption Expenditures |
Central Banks Of Different Countries
Central Banks
| BoC | Bank of Canada |
|---|---|
| BoE | Bank of England |
| BoJ | Bank of Japan |
| CBoB | Central Bank of Brazil |
| CBoRF | Central Bank of Russia Federation |
| ECB | Europe Central Bank |
| FED | Federal Reserve of United States |
| PBoC | Popular Bank of China |
| RBA | Reserve Bank of Australia |
| SNB | Swiss National Bank |
Most important Economic Events
ADP Non-Farm Employment Change
Is the estimated change in the number of employed people in the USA, during the past month. Farming industry and government employees excluded.
Markets
SPX 500 (known as S&P500)
Is an index noted for it's market size, liquidity and industry grouping. It is composed of 500 corporations (stocks) that are traded on the NASDAQ and NYSE. It is considered a measure for all U.S. equities.
EUR/USD
Euro (European currency) to United States Dollar (currency of the United States of America). EUR/USD is the price of 1 Euro in American dollars.
GBP/USD
Great Britain Pound (currency of England) to United States Dollar (currency of the United States of America). GBP/USD is the price of 1 Great Britain Pound in American dollars.
Brent Crude Oil
A trading classification for sweet light crude oil.
Gold
Generally refers to the price for one Troy ounce of gold.
Trading - Basic
Ask
Also called “Offer”, meaning; the price a seller is willing to accept. In trading context it's the price that a trader is willing to sell a stock, bond or currency.
Bid
Is the price that buyers are willing to pay for that specific offer. In trading context it's an offer made by an investor or trader to buy a security, commodity or currency.
Broker
Someone that buys or sells an investment for you, and receives a commission for it.
Dividend
Portion of a company’s earnings that goes straight to the shareholders.
Exchange
Place where all the different investments(asset classes and markets) are traded.
Index
Generally represents a number of assets with a common denominator. Used as a market benchmark that tells traders how the overall market for that type of asset is performing.
Sector
A group of companies ( or rather stocks of the companies) that are part of the same industry and have the same kind of business.
Order
A request (bid) of an investor to buy or sell a asset.
Quote
The asset’s last trading price.
Trading - Advanced
Bear Market
When the stock market as a whole is constantly decreasing stock prices (down trend).
Bull Market
When prices for most stocks in the market are constantly increasing (up trend).
Dividend
A portion of company earnings that goes straight to the shareholders.
Learn by doing.
