Recently added Nov 4, 2026
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- 0DTE options (zero days to expiration)The marketsOptions bought and sold on the same day they expire.
- 2-year vs. 10-year yieldThe marketsThe two most-watched points on the yield curve. The 2-year moves closely with what markets expect from the Fed; the 10-year reflects the longer outlook and helps steer mortgage rates.
- 2% inflation goalHow it connectsThe Fed's target of 2% yearly inflation over time, measured with the PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) price index.
- 401(k)How it connectsA retirement savings plan offered through an employer, where money is taken from your paycheck and invested, often with tax advantages.
A
- ADP National Employment ReportThe wordsA monthly estimate of private-sector hiring from ADP (Automatic Data Processing), a payroll-processing company, based on its own payroll data. It usually comes out the Wednesday before the government's jobs report, at 7:15 AM CT (Central Time).
- Advance estimateThe wordsThe first official estimate of GDP (gross domestic product) for a quarter, released about a month after it ends and revised later.
- AI (artificial intelligence)The marketsComputer systems that do tasks that normally take human thinking, like writing, recognizing images or answering questions. In market news, "AI" usually means the companies building it and the money being spent on the chips, data centers and power to run it.
- Analyst ratings (upgrades and downgrades)The marketsThe buy, hold or sell recommendations that analysts at banks and research firms put on stocks. An upgrade raises the rating; a downgrade lowers it.
- Annual rate (annualized)The wordsA quarter's growth restated as if it continued at the same pace for a full year.
- APR and APYHow it connectsAPR (annual percentage rate) is a yearly rate without the effect of compounding, and for loans it can include some fees. APY (annual percentage yield) includes compounding, showing what you actually earn in a year.
- Asset classThe marketsA broad type of investment that tends to behave in its own way, like stocks, bonds, cash, commodities or real estate.
- S&P/ASX 200The marketsAustralia's main stock index: the 200 largest companies on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
- ATR (average true range)Chart termsA measure of how much a market typically moves per period, averaged over a set number of periods, often 14. It measures size, not direction.
- Average hourly earningsThe wordsThe average pay per hour for workers on US payrolls, reported with the jobs report.
B
- BackwardationThe marketsWhen a futures price is lower than the current spot price.
- Bank of EnglandHow it connectsThe UK's central bank. Its nine-member Monetary Policy Committee sets interest rates for the pound.
- Bank of JapanHow it connectsJapan's central bank, which sets interest rates and manages money conditions for the yen.
- Bank reservesHow it connectsMoney that banks keep in their accounts at the Federal Reserve.
- Barrel (of oil)The marketsThe standard unit for crude oil: 42 US gallons.
- Basis pointHow it connectsOne-hundredth of a percentage point. 100 basis points equal 1 percentage point.
- Bear marketThe marketsA long stretch of falling prices. A common definition is a drop of 20% or more from a recent high.
- Beige BookThe wordsA Fed report, published eight times a year, describing business conditions in each of its 12 districts.
- Bid-ask spreadThe marketsThe gap between the highest price a buyer will pay (the bid) and the lowest price a seller will accept (the ask).
- BitcoinThe marketsThe first and largest cryptocurrency, launched in 2009 by a person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
- Spot bitcoin ETFsThe marketsExchange-traded funds (ETFs) that hold actual bitcoin, letting investors get exposure through a regular brokerage account.
- Blackout periodHow it connectsThe stretch around each Fed meeting when officials don't speak publicly about policy, starting the second Saturday before the meeting.
- BlockchainThe marketsA shared digital record, copied across many computers, where new entries are added in linked blocks that are very hard to change afterward.
- BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics)The wordsThe part of the US Labor Department that measures jobs, wages and prices. It publishes the monthly jobs report, CPI (Consumer Price Index) and PPI (Producer Price Index), usually at 7:30 AM CT (Central Time), and JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) at 9:00 AM CT.
- Board of GovernorsHow it connectsThe seven-member board in Washington that runs the Federal Reserve System.
- Bollinger BandsChart termsThree lines around price: a moving average in the middle, usually 20 periods, and bands above and below it, usually two standard deviations away, that widen when price swings more and narrow when it calms down.
- BondThe marketsA loan you make to a government or company. It pays you interest and returns your money on a set date.
- Why bond prices and yields move oppositeThe marketsWhen a bond's price goes up, its yield goes down, and when the price falls, the yield rises.
- Breakeven inflationHow it connectsThe inflation rate bond markets are pricing in, read from the gap between regular Treasury yields and inflation-protected Treasury yields.
- BreakoutChart termsWhen price moves through a support or resistance level that had been holding it back.
- Brent and WTIThe marketsThe two main oil price benchmarks. Brent is the global benchmark from the North Sea; WTI (West Texas Intermediate) is US oil priced at Cushing, Oklahoma.
- BrokerThe marketsA firm that sends your orders to the market and holds your account.
- Budget deficitHow it connectsThe amount by which the government spends more than it collects in revenue in a year.
- Bull marketThe marketsA long stretch of rising prices. A common definition is a rise of 20% or more from a recent low.
- Business cycleHow it connectsThe recurring pattern of expansion, peak, contraction (recession) and trough in the economy.
- Stock buybackThe marketsWhen a company uses its cash to buy back its own shares from the market.
C
- Candle body and wickChart termsThe two parts of a candlestick. The thick body spans the open and the close; the thin wicks (also called shadows) show how far price traveled beyond them, up to the high and down to the low.
- Candlestick chartChart termsA way of drawing price for one stretch of time (a minute, an hour, a day) that shows four numbers at once: where it opened, its high, its low and where it closed.
- Carry tradeHow it connectsBorrowing in a currency with low interest rates and investing in one with higher rates, to pocket the difference.
- Central bankHow it connectsA country's or region's main monetary authority, which manages its currency, sets key interest rates and oversees the banking system.
- Central bank gold buyingThe marketsCentral banks adding gold to their country's reserves.
- Certificate of deposit (CD)How it connectsA bank deposit that pays a fixed interest rate for a set term, such as 6 months or 5 years, in exchange for leaving the money untouched.
- Challenger job cutsThe wordsA monthly tally of announced layoffs at US employers from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement firm.
- Divergence (on charts)Chart termsWhen price and an indicator like RSI (Relative Strength Index) or MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) move in opposite directions, for example price makes a new high but the indicator doesn't.
- Chop (choppy market)Chart termsPrice that moves back and forth in quick, uneven swings without going anywhere in particular.
- Circuit breakersThe marketsAutomatic market-wide trading halts triggered when the S&P 500 falls 7%, 13% or 20% in a single day.
- CME FedWatchThe marketsA tool from CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) Group (owner of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange) that turns futures prices into the market's odds of the Fed's next rate move.
- Commissions and feesThe marketsWhat a broker and the exchange charge to place a trade.
- CommodityThe marketsA basic raw material that's interchangeable no matter who produces it, like oil, gold, wheat or copper.
- Compound interestHow it connectsEarning interest on your interest, not just on the money you started with.
- Confirmation biasThe marketsThe tendency to notice information that supports what you already believe and to brush off what doesn't.
- ConfluenceChart termsWhen several separate reasons to watch a price line up at the same spot, such as the previous day's low, a round number and a moving average all near one level.
- Consensus forecastThe wordsThe middle of what economists expect a report to show, gathered in a named poll such as Reuters, Bloomberg or Dow Jones.
- Consumer confidence (Conference Board)The wordsA monthly survey from the Conference Board, a business research group, of how Americans feel about the economy now and over the next six months.
- Consumer sentimentThe wordsA monthly University of Michigan survey of how Americans feel about their finances and the economy.
- Consumer spendingHow it connectsWhat households spend on goods and services, from groceries and rent to cars and travel.
- ContangoThe marketsWhen a futures price is higher than the current spot price.
- Continuing claimsThe wordsThe number of people still collecting unemployment benefits after their first week.
- Core CPIThe wordsCPI (Consumer Price Index) with food and energy taken out, to show the steadier trend in prices.
- Core PCEThe wordsThe PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) price index with food and energy taken out.
- Core PPIThe wordsThe Producer Price Index with its most volatile parts taken out: food, energy and trade services.
- CorrectionThe marketsA drop of 10% or more from a recent high, but less than the 20% that defines a bear market.
- CouponThe marketsThe fixed interest payment a bond makes, usually stated as a yearly percentage of its face value.
- CPI (Consumer Price Index)The wordsA monthly government measure of how much the prices people pay for everyday goods and services have changed.
- Credit card interestHow it connectsThe interest charged on credit card balances that aren't paid off in full each month, usually shown as an APR (annual percentage rate).
- Credit ratingThe marketsA grade from an agency such as S&P Global, Moody's or Fitch on how likely a borrower is to repay its debt.
- Credit reportHow it connectsA record of your borrowing and repayment history, kept by the three big credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
- Credit scoreHow it connectsA three-digit number that sums up how reliably someone has repaid debt, which lenders use to decide whether to lend and at what rate.
- Credit spreadThe marketsThe extra yield investors demand to lend to a company instead of the US government.
- EIA crude inventoriesThe wordsThe weekly count of how much crude oil is stored in the US, from the EIA (Energy Information Administration), usually released Wednesdays at 9:30 AM CT (Central Time).
- CryptocurrencyThe marketsDigital money that runs on a network of computers rather than through a bank or government, recorded on a blockchain.
- Currency pairHow it connectsTwo currencies quoted against each other, written like EUR/USD (euro against US dollar) or USD/JPY (US dollar against Japanese yen).
D
- DAXThe marketsGermany's main stock index, the DAX (Deutscher Aktienindex, German for "German stock index"): 40 of the largest companies listed in Frankfurt.
- Day tradingThe marketsBuying and selling within the same trading day, closing positions before the day ends.
- Debt limit (debt ceiling)How it connectsThe cap Congress sets on how much the US government can borrow to pay bills it already owes.
- DeflationHow it connectsA broad, lasting fall in prices across the economy: the opposite of inflation.
- Discount windowHow it connectsThe Fed's lending desk, where banks can borrow short-term money directly from the Fed.
- DissentHow it connectsWhen a voting member of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) votes against the committee's decision.
- DiversificationThe marketsSpreading money across different investments so that one bad outcome doesn't sink everything.
- DividendThe marketsA share of a company's profit paid out to its shareholders.
- DojiChart termsA candle where the open and the close are nearly the same, so the body is tiny or just a line: a standoff between buyers and sellers for that period.
- Dot plotHow it connectsA chart released four times a year showing where each Fed official expects interest rates to be at the end of the coming years.
- Double top and double bottomChart termsA double top is two peaks at about the same price with a dip between them. A double bottom is the reverse: two dips at about the same level.
- Dow Jones Industrial AverageThe marketsA stock index of 30 large US companies, weighted by share price rather than company size.
- DrawdownThe marketsHow far an account or investment falls from its peak before it recovers, usually given as a percentage.
- Dual mandateHow it connectsThe two goals Congress gave the Fed: maximum employment and stable prices.
- Durable goods ordersThe wordsA monthly count of new orders for manufactured goods built to last three years or more, like cars, appliances and machinery.
E
- E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ)The marketsA futures contract that tracks the Nasdaq-100, traded on CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) nearly around the clock.
- E-mini S&P 500 (ES)The marketsA futures contract that tracks the S&P 500, traded on CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) nearly around the clock.
- Earnings beat and missThe marketsA beat is when a company's results come in above what analysts expected; a miss is when they come in below.
- Earnings per share (EPS)The marketsA company's profit divided by its number of shares.
- Earnings seasonThe marketsThe few weeks after each quarter ends when most large companies report their results.
- ECB (European Central Bank)How it connectsThe central bank for the countries that use the euro. It sets interest rates for the whole euro area.
- EIA (Energy Information Administration)The wordsThe US government's energy statistics agency, part of the Department of Energy. It publishes the weekly count of US crude oil and gasoline stockpiles, usually Wednesdays at 9:30 AM CT (Central Time), plus monthly outlooks for oil, gasoline and natural gas prices.
- Emergency fundHow it connectsMoney set aside for unexpected costs, like a job loss, car repair or medical bill, kept somewhere safe and easy to reach.
- Emergency rate cutHow it connectsA rate cut announced between scheduled Fed meetings, typically during a crisis or market stress.
- Employment Cost Index (ECI)The wordsA quarterly measure of what employers pay for their workers, including wages and benefits.
- Engulfing candleChart termsA two-candle pattern where the second candle's body completely covers the first candle's body and points the opposite way.
- Equal-weight vs. cap-weightThe marketsA cap-weighted index gives bigger companies more influence. An equal-weight version gives every company the same share.
- Establishment surveyThe wordsThe monthly survey of businesses and government agencies that produces the payroll jobs number.
- ETF (exchange-traded fund)The marketsA fund that holds a basket of investments and trades on an exchange like a single stock.
- Exchange rateHow it connectsThe price of one currency in terms of another.
- Existing home salesThe wordsA monthly count of previously owned homes that closed sales, from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), along with the median sale price.
- Expiration and rollThe marketsEvery futures contract has a last trading day. Before it, traders who want to stay in move to the next contract, called rolling.
- Exponential moving average (EMA)Chart termsA moving average that gives more weight to recent prices, so it reacts faster to changes.
F
- Fakeout (false breakout)Chart termsWhen price moves past a level as if breaking out, then quickly reverses back inside.
- FDIC insuranceHow it connectsGovernment protection for bank deposits, from the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), covering up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category.
- Fed balance sheetHow it connectsEverything the Fed owns, mostly Treasury and mortgage-backed bonds, and everything it owes, mostly the dollar bills in circulation and banks' deposits.
- Fed chairHow it connectsThe head of the Federal Reserve Board, who by tradition is also elected chair of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) and speaks for the Fed in public.
- Fed independenceHow it connectsThe principle that the Federal Reserve sets interest rates without needing approval from the President or Congress.
- Fed press conferenceHow it connectsThe Fed Chair's question-and-answer session with reporters after each rate decision.
- Fed speakers (Fedspeak)How it connectsSpeeches, interviews and testimony from Fed officials between meetings, which markets comb for hints about the next rate decision.
- Federal funds rateHow it connectsThe interest rate banks charge each other for overnight loans. The Fed sets a target range for it.
- Fibonacci retracementChart termsHorizontal levels drawn between a high and a low at set percentages, most often 38.2%, 50% and 61.8%, which traders watch as possible places for a pullback to stop.
- Financial conditionsHow it connectsHow easy or hard it is for people and businesses to get money, judged from borrowing costs, stock prices, credit spreads and the dollar together.
- Fiscal policyHow it connectsWhat the government does with taxes and spending.
- Fixed-rate vs. adjustable-rate mortgageHow it connectsA fixed-rate mortgage keeps the same interest rate for the whole loan. An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) has a rate that can change over time.
- Flag patternChart termsA short, tidy pause after a sharp move, where price drifts slightly against the move between two roughly parallel lines, like a flag on a pole.
- FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee)How it connectsThe Fed committee that votes on interest rates, at eight scheduled meetings a year.
- FOMC minutesHow it connectsThe detailed summary of a Fed meeting's discussion, released three weeks after the decision.
- FOMC statementHow it connectsThe short written announcement of each rate decision, with the reasons and the vote, released at 1:00 PM CT (Central Time).
- FOMC votersHow it connectsThe 12 members who vote on interest rates at each FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting.
- FOMO (fear of missing out)The marketsThe urge to jump into a trade or investment because prices are moving and everyone else seems to be making money.
- Forward guidanceHow it connectsThe Fed telling the public where interest rates are likely headed.
- FRN (floating-rate note)The marketsA bond whose interest rate isn't fixed. It resets as short-term rates change. The US Treasury sells two-year FRNs whose rate resets every week based on its 13-week (three-month) Treasury bill auctions.
- FTSE 100The marketsBritain's main stock index (FTSE originally stood for Financial Times Stock Exchange): the 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange.
- FuturesThe marketsA contract to buy or sell something at a set price on a set future date, traded on an exchange. A futures price isn't a forecast; it's today's price plus the cost of waiting until delivery.
G
- Gap fillChart termsWhen price moves back to where it was before a gap, covering the empty space on the chart.
- GDP (gross domestic product)The wordsThe total value of everything the US economy produces, reported each quarter.
- GDPNow (Atlanta Fed)The wordsA running estimate of the current quarter's growth from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, updated as new data arrives.
- Gold ETFsThe marketsExchange-traded funds (ETFs) that hold physical gold in vaults, letting investors own gold through a brokerage account.
- Gold futures (GC)The marketsFutures contracts for 100 troy ounces of gold, traded on COMEX, the Commodity Exchange, which is part of CME Group.
- Golden cross and death crossChart termsA golden cross is when a shorter moving average, usually the 50-day, crosses above a longer one, usually the 200-day. A death cross is when it crosses below.
- Guidance (company)The marketsA company's own forecast for its upcoming results, usually revenue or earnings for the next quarter or year.
H
- Hammer candleChart termsA candle with a small body near the top, little or no upper wick and a long lower wick, at least about twice the body's length, appearing after a decline.
- Hang Seng IndexThe marketsHong Kong's main stock index, tracking the largest companies listed there, including many big Chinese firms.
- Hard landingHow it connectsWhen higher interest rates slow the economy so much that it tips into a recession.
- Hawkish and dovishHow it connectsHawkish means leaning toward higher rates to fight inflation. Dovish means leaning toward lower rates to support jobs and growth.
- Head and shouldersChart termsA chart shape with three peaks: a higher one in the middle (the head) between two lower ones (the shoulders). Some traders read it as a sign an uptrend may be losing steam.
- Headline vs. coreThe wordsHeadline is inflation for everything. Core is everything except food and energy.
- Herd behaviorThe marketsWhen people follow what everyone else is doing in the market rather than their own analysis.
- High-yield bondsThe marketsBonds from borrowers rated below investment grade, which pay higher interest to make up for higher risk. Also called junk bonds.
- High-yield savings accountHow it connectsA savings account, often at an online bank, that pays a higher interest rate than a typical bank savings account.
- Higher highs and higher lowsChart termsA pattern of swings where each peak is above the last peak and each dip stays above the last dip: the textbook shape of an uptrend.
- Household surveyThe wordsThe monthly survey of about 60,000 households that produces the unemployment rate.
- Housing startsThe wordsThe number of new homes that began construction in a month, counted when digging for the foundation begins.
I
- Implied volatilityThe marketsHow much the options market expects a price to swing in the future, worked out from option prices.
- Import pricesThe wordsA monthly measure of how the prices of goods and services the US buys from other countries are changing.
- Index fundThe marketsA fund, either a mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund (ETF), that aims to match a market index rather than beat it.
- Industrial productionThe wordsA monthly Fed measure of how much US factories, mines and utilities produced.
- InflationHow it connectsA general rise in prices over time, so each dollar buys a little less.
- Inflation expectationsHow it connectsWhat people, businesses and investors think inflation will be in the future.
- Initial jobless claimsThe wordsThe number of people who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time in the past week.
- Interest on reserve balances (IORB)How it connectsThe interest rate the Fed pays banks on the money they keep in their accounts at the Fed.
- Interest rateHow it connectsThe price of borrowing money, or the reward for lending it, shown as a percentage per year.
- Inverted yield curveThe marketsWhen short-term Treasury yields are higher than long-term ones.
- IPO (initial public offering)The marketsThe first time a private company sells shares to the public and lists on a stock exchange.
- IRA (individual retirement account)How it connectsA retirement account you open yourself, separate from any employer, with tax advantages.
- ISM Manufacturing PMIThe wordsA monthly survey of factory purchasing managers, scored so that above 50 means manufacturing is generally growing and below 50 means it's shrinking.
- ISM Services PMIThe wordsA monthly survey of purchasing managers at service businesses, scored so above 50 means services are generally growing.
J
- Jobs report (Employment Situation)The wordsThe government's monthly report on US jobs, built from two surveys: one of employers, one of households. Usually out the first Friday of the month at 7:30 AM CT (Central Time).
- JOLTSThe wordsA monthly government survey of job openings, hires and people leaving their jobs.
- JPX (Japan Exchange Group)The marketsThe company that runs Japan's main stock and derivatives exchanges, including the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It publishes the trading calendar, including market holidays.
K
L
- Labor force participation rateThe wordsThe share of working-age people who either have a job or are looking for one.
- Labor marketHow it connectsThe overall supply of workers and demand for them: how easy it is to find a job, and how hard it is to fill one.
- LBMA Gold PriceThe marketsA benchmark price for gold set twice each London business day, used to value gold contracts and holdings around the world.
- Leading indicatorsHow it connectsData that tends to change direction before the overall economy does, used to anticipate turns in the cycle.
- LeverageThe marketsControlling a large position with a relatively small amount of money, which makes both gains and losses bigger.
- Limit orderThe marketsAn order to buy or sell only at a set price or better.
- Line chartChart termsA chart that plots one price per period, usually the close, and connects them with a single line.
- LiquidityThe marketsHow easily something can be bought or sold quickly without moving its price much.
- Long and shortThe marketsGoing long means buying something in the hope its price rises. Going short means selling first in the hope the price falls, then buying back lower.
- Loss aversionThe marketsThe finding that losses tend to feel more painful than equal-sized gains feel good.
- Lower highs and lower lowsChart termsA pattern of swings where each peak is below the last peak and each dip falls below the last dip: the textbook shape of a downtrend.
- LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group)The marketsThe company that runs the London Stock Exchange and a large financial data business. When Reuters reports what analysts expected a company to earn, the figure usually comes from LSEG's data.
M
- m/m vs. y/yThe wordsMonth over month compares with the month before. Year over year compares with the same month a year earlier.
- MACDChart termsA chart tool built from the gap between two moving averages, used to gauge how strong a trend is.
- Magnificent 7The marketsA nickname for seven of the largest US technology-related companies.
- MarginThe marketsMoney you must have in your account to hold a leveraged position. It works differently for futures and for stocks.
- Margin callThe marketsA demand from a broker to add money when an account falls below the required margin.
- Market breadthThe marketsHow many stocks are taking part in a market move, not just how much the index moved.
- Market capThe marketsWhat a company is worth on the stock market: its share price times its number of shares.
- Market indexThe marketsA single number that tracks the prices of a group of stocks or other assets, to show how that slice of the market is doing.
- Market orderThe marketsAn order to buy or sell right away at the best price currently available.
- Market structureChart termsThe overall shape of a market's swings: the pattern of peaks and dips that shows whether it's trending up, trending down or moving sideways.
- Micro futuresThe marketsSmaller versions of popular futures contracts, a fraction of the size of the standard ones.
- MomentumChart termsThe speed and strength of a price move: how fast price is changing, not just which way.
- Monetary policyHow it connectsWhat a central bank does with interest rates and its balance sheet to steer the economy.
- How banks create moneyHow it connectsMost of the money people use is created by ordinary banks when they make loans, not printed by the government.
- Money supply (M2)How it connectsThe total amount of money in the economy. M2 is the broad measure the Fed publishes: cash, checking and savings deposits, small time deposits and retail money market funds.
- Mortgage ratesHow it connectsThe interest rates on home loans. In the US they tend to move with the 10-year Treasury yield, plus a spread.
- Moving averageChart termsThe average closing price over a set number of days, recalculated each day. A simple moving average weighs every day equally.
- Multi-timeframe analysisChart termsLooking at the same market on more than one timeframe, usually a longer one for the big picture and a shorter one for detail.
- Mutual fundThe marketsA fund that pools money from many investors and invests it, priced once a day at the end of trading.
N
- Nasdaq CompositeThe marketsA stock index of nearly every company listed on the Nasdaq exchange, more than 2,500 in all.
- Nasdaq-100The marketsA stock index of 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange, heavy in technology.
- National debtHow it connectsThe total amount the federal government owes, built up from past deficits.
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)How it connectsA military alliance of 32 countries in North America and Europe, whose members agree that an attack on one is an attack on all. In market news, it comes up mostly through how much member countries agree to spend on defense.
- Net worthHow it connectsEverything you own minus everything you owe.
- Neutral rate (r-star)How it connectsThe interest rate that neither speeds up nor slows down the economy. It can't be seen directly, only estimated.
- New home salesThe wordsA monthly count of newly built homes sold, counted when the contract is signed or a deposit is taken.
- Nikkei 225The marketsJapan's best-known stock index: 225 large companies listed in Tokyo, weighted by share price.
- Nominal and realHow it connectsNominal means measured in today's dollars as they are. Real means adjusted for inflation.
- Nonfarm payrollsThe wordsThe number of jobs US employers added or cut in a month, not counting farm work. The headline number of the jobs report.
O
- OHLC (open, high, low, close)Chart termsThe four prices that sum up any stretch of trading: the first trade (open), the highest (high), the lowest (low) and the last (close).
- OPEC+The marketsThe group formed by OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and other oil producers, including Russia, that coordinate how much oil they pump.
- Open interestThe marketsThe number of futures contracts still open at the end of a trading day.
- Opening rangeChart termsThe high and low set in the first stretch of a trading session, often the first 5, 15 or 30 minutes after the open.
- Option premiumThe marketsThe price paid to buy an option.
- Options (calls and puts)The marketsContracts that give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy (a call) or sell (a put) something at a set price on or before a set date.
- Options expirationThe marketsThe date an option stops existing. Standard monthly US stock and index options expire on the third Friday of the month.
- Order bookThe marketsThe live list of buy and sell orders waiting at each price for a market. Often called depth of market (DOM).
- Overbought and oversoldChart termsLabels for a market some believe has risen too far too fast (overbought) or fallen too far too fast (oversold).
- OvertradingThe marketsTaking more trades than a plan calls for, for example, out of boredom, excitement or the need to be doing something.
P
- P/E ratioThe marketsA stock's price divided by its earnings per share.
- Paper tradingThe marketsPracticing trades with pretend money, usually on a simulator, so nothing real is at risk.
- PCE price indexThe wordsA monthly measure of prices for the goods and services bought by, or for, people in the US.
- PennantChart termsLike a flag, a short pause after a sharp move, except the pause narrows into a small, tight triangle instead of drifting between parallel lines.
- Personal saving rateThe wordsThe share of after-tax income that households save instead of spend.
- Personal spendingThe wordsThe value of goods and services bought by, or for, US households each month. Released alongside the PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) price index.
- Pivot pointsChart termsPrice levels calculated from the previous session's high, low and close, used as reference points for the current session.
- Point valueThe marketsHow many dollars one full point of price movement is worth on one futures contract.
- PortfolioThe marketsAll the investments a person or fund holds, taken together.
- Position sizeThe marketsHow many shares or contracts a trade uses, and so how much money is on the line.
- PPI (Producer Price Index)The wordsA monthly measure of the prices businesses get paid for what they sell.
- Premarket and after-hoursThe marketsStock trading outside regular hours, which run 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM CT (Central Time).
- Previous day high and lowChart termsThe highest and lowest prices from the prior trading session, which many traders mark on today's chart.
- Price channelChart termsTwo parallel lines drawn along a trend's peaks and dips, showing price moving within a steady lane.
- Gap up and gap downChart termsA jump where a market opens noticeably above (gap up) or below (gap down) where it last closed. If it also opens beyond the previous high or low, it leaves an empty space on the chart.
- Price targetThe marketsAn analyst's estimate of where a stock's price should be, typically 12 to 18 months from now.
- Priced inHow it connectsWhen markets already expect something, so prices already reflect it before it happens.
- Prime rateHow it connectsThe base interest rate many banks use to price loans like credit cards and home equity lines of credit.
- ProductivityHow it connectsHow much is produced for each hour worked.
- Profit marginThe marketsThe share of each dollar of revenue a company keeps as profit. Gross margin counts only the direct costs of making the product; net margin counts every cost.
- Pullback (retracement)Chart termsA move against the recent trend, like a dip during a rally.
- Purchasing powerHow it connectsHow much a dollar can actually buy.
Q
- Quantitative easing (QE)How it connectsA central bank buying large amounts of bonds to push long-term interest rates down.
- Quantitative tightening (QT)How it connectsThe reverse of QE (quantitative easing): the Fed shrinking the bonds it holds.
- Quarterly expirationThe marketsES (E-mini S&P 500) and NQ (E-mini Nasdaq-100) contracts expire four times a year, on the third Friday of March, June, September and December.
- Treasury quarterly refundingThe marketsThe US Treasury's quarterly announcement of how it plans to borrow, including the sizes of its upcoming note and bond auctions.
R
- RallyThe marketsA strong, sustained rise in prices over a period of time, from hours to months.
- Rate hike and rate cutHow it connectsThe Fed raising or lowering its target range for the federal funds rate, usually by a quarter of a percentage point.
- RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia)How it connectsAustralia's central bank. It sets the cash rate, Australia's key interest rate, and its decisions come out in the afternoon in Sydney, which is late evening the day before in US Central time.
- Real interest rateHow it connectsAn interest rate minus inflation: what you actually earn after prices rise.
- Recency biasThe marketsGiving too much weight to what just happened and assuming it will keep happening.
- RecessionHow it connectsA significant decline in economic activity that spreads across the economy and lasts more than a few months.
- Regional Fed manufacturing surveysThe wordsMonthly surveys of factories by individual Federal Reserve banks, such as the New York Fed's Empire State survey and the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing survey.
- Repo marketHow it connectsThe market for very short-term loans, usually overnight, where one side sells securities, often Treasuries, and agrees to buy them back later, often the next day, at a slightly higher price. Repo is short for repurchase agreement.
- Federal Reserve BanksHow it connectsThe 12 regional banks of the Federal Reserve System, from Boston to San Francisco, each covering a district of the country.
- ResistanceChart termsA price level where a rising market has tended to stall or turn back.
- Retail salesThe wordsA monthly government estimate of how much stores, restaurants and online sellers sold.
- RetestChart termsWhen price comes back to a level it recently broke through, often testing whether that level now holds from the other side.
- Revenge tradingThe marketsJumping straight into new trades after a loss, trying to win the money back quickly.
- RevenueThe marketsThe total money a company brings in from selling its products and services, before any costs are taken out. Often called sales or the top line.
- Reverse repo (ON RRP)How it connectsA Fed facility where money market funds and other firms can park cash overnight and earn a set rate.
- RevisionsThe wordsUpdates to earlier months' numbers as more complete data comes in. Each jobs report revises the two months before it.
- Risk managementThe marketsDeciding in advance how much you're willing to lose, on each trade and overall, and sizing and exiting trades to stay within it.
- Risk-on and risk-offHow it connectsShorthand for the market's mood. Risk-on means money moving toward stocks and other riskier bets. Risk-off means money moving toward safety.
- Risk-reward ratioThe marketsA comparison of how much a trade could lose, if the stop-loss is hit, with how much it could gain, if the target is reached.
- Round numbersChart termsPrices ending in lots of zeros, like $4,000 gold or 7,500 on the S&P 500 (example numbers), which tend to get extra attention from traders and the media.
- RSI (Relative Strength Index)Chart termsA gauge from 0 to 100 that compares the size of a market's recent up moves with its recent down moves.
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- S&P 500The marketsA stock index that tracks 500 of the largest US companies, weighted by their size.
- S&P Global PMI (flash and final)The wordsMonthly PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) surveys of purchasing managers from S&P Global, for manufacturing and services, scored so that above 50 means growth and below 50 means contraction. A first "flash" reading comes late in the month and a "final" one early the next.
- Safe havenThe marketsSomething investors buy when they're worried, because they expect it to hold its value.
- SectorThe marketsA group of companies in the same broad line of business, such as technology, energy or health care.
- Sell-offThe marketsA sharp, broad drop in prices as many investors sell at once.
- SEP (Summary of Economic Projections)How it connectsThe Fed's quarterly set of forecasts from each policymaker for growth, unemployment, inflation and interest rates.
- Settlement priceThe marketsThe official price an exchange sets for a futures contract at the end of each trading day.
- Shanghai CompositeThe marketsAn index of almost all the stocks listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in mainland China.
- Shelter (in CPI)The wordsThe housing part of CPI (Consumer Price Index): rent, plus an estimate of what homeowners would pay to rent their own home.
- Short interestThe marketsThe number of a stock's shares that have been sold short and not yet bought back.
- Short squeezeThe marketsA fast price jump that forces short sellers to buy back, which pushes the price even higher.
- SlippageThe marketsThe difference between the price you expected to trade at and the price you actually got.
- SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate)How it connectsA benchmark interest rate based on overnight loans backed by Treasuries, published every business day by the New York Fed.
- Soft landingHow it connectsWhen the Fed brings inflation down without causing a recession.
- Spot goldThe marketsThe price of gold for delivery now, rather than at a future date.
- StablecoinThe marketsA cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value, usually one US dollar, typically backed by reserves like cash and short-term Treasuries.
- StagflationHow it connectsSlow growth and rising unemployment combined with high inflation.
- Stochastic oscillatorChart termsAn indicator, on a scale from 0 to 100, that shows where the latest close sits within the high-to-low range of a recent period, often 14 periods.
- Stock (share)The marketsA piece of ownership in a company. One share is one unit of that ownership.
- Stop orderThe marketsAn order that sits waiting until price reaches a set level (the stop price), then becomes a market order.
- Stop-lossThe marketsA stop order placed to close a position automatically if price moves a set amount against it, to limit the loss.
- STOXX Europe 600The marketsA broad index of 600 large, mid-sized and small companies across 17 European countries.
- Strait of HormuzThe marketsA narrow sea passage between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, and one of the world's most important routes for oil.
- Strike priceThe marketsThe price at which an option lets its owner buy (for a call) or sell (for a put).
- Strong dollar and weak dollarHow it connectsA strong dollar buys more foreign currency than before; a weak dollar buys less.
- Supply and demand zonesChart termsPrice areas, rather than single lines, where a market previously turned sharply, which some traders expect could see heavy buying (demand) or selling (supply) again.
- Supply chainHow it connectsThe whole path a product takes from raw materials to factories to shipping to store shelves.
- SupportChart termsA price level where a falling market has tended to stop falling or slow down.
- SurpriseThe wordsHow far a report's actual number landed from the consensus forecast.
- Swing tradingThe marketsHolding trades for several days to a few weeks to try to catch a larger price swing.
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- TaiexThe marketsTaiwan's main stock index, the Taiex (Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index), from the Taiwan Stock Exchange, weighted by market value.
- TariffHow it connectsA tax on imported goods, paid when they come into the country.
- Technical analysisChart termsStudying price charts, rather than company or economic data, to judge where a market might head.
- Term premiumThe marketsThe extra yield investors demand to lock their money into a long-term bond instead of rolling over short-term ones.
- Terminal rateHow it connectsThe highest level the Fed's target rate reaches in a cycle of rate hikes, or the lowest in a cycle of cuts.
- Treasury General Account (TGA)How it connectsThe US government's main checking account, held at the Federal Reserve.
- The Federal Reserve (the Fed)How it connectsThe central bank of the United States. It sets short-term interest rates and oversees the banking system.
- Tick and tick valueThe marketsA tick is the smallest amount a price can move. Tick value is how many dollars one tick is worth on one contract.
- Tightening and easingHow it connectsTightening means a central bank making money harder to come by, mainly by raising rates; easing means making it easier, mainly by cutting them.
- TimeframeChart termsThe stretch of time each candle or bar on a chart represents, such as 1 minute, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day or 1 week.
- TopixThe marketsJapan's broader stock index, covering a wide range of companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime market, weighted by market value.
- Trade balanceThe wordsThe difference between what a country sells abroad (exports) and what it buys from abroad (imports).
- Regular hours and the overnight sessionThe marketsRegular trading hours are the main session of the stock market. Stock index futures also trade almost around the clock, and the part outside regular hours is often called the overnight session.
- Trading journalThe marketsA record of each trade: why it was taken, where it got in and out, how it turned out, and how it felt at the time.
- Trading planThe marketsA written set of rules for how you trade: what you trade, what setups you take, how much you risk, and when you stop for the day.
- Range (consolidation)Chart termsA stretch where price moves sideways between a fairly steady ceiling and floor instead of trending. Also called consolidation.
- Treasury auctionThe marketsHow the government sells new Treasuries. Bidders set the interest rate.
- Treasury bills, notes and bondsThe marketsLoans to the US government, sold as securities. Bills last up to a year, notes 2 to 10 years, and bonds 20 or 30 years.
- Treasury yieldThe marketsThe interest rate the US government pays to borrow, set by buyers in the bond market.
- Trend and trendlineChart termsA trend is the general direction prices have been moving. A trendline is a line drawn along the highs or lows to show it.
- Trend reversalChart termsWhen an uptrend turns into a downtrend, or the other way around.
- Triangle patternChart termsA pattern where price swings get smaller and squeeze toward a point, drawn with two trendlines that converge.
- Troy ounceThe marketsThe unit gold is priced in: exactly 31.1034768 grams, a little heavier than a regular ounce.
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- Unemployment rateThe wordsThe share of people in the labor force who want a job, are looking, and don't have one.
- Unit labor costsThe wordsWhat a business pays in wages to produce one unit of output.
- US Dollar IndexHow it connectsA measure of the dollar's value against a basket of six major currencies, led by the euro.
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- VIXThe marketsAn index of how much movement options traders expect in the S&P 500 over the near term. Often called the market's "fear gauge."
- VolatilityChart termsHow much and how fast prices swing. Realized volatility measures past swings; implied volatility is what options prices expect.
- VolumeChart termsHow many shares or contracts traded in a given period.
- Volume profileChart termsA chart tool that shows how much trading happened at each price level over a period, drawn as horizontal bars beside the chart.
- VWAP (volume-weighted average price)Chart termsThe average price something has traded at so far in the session, giving more weight to prices where more trading happened.
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We explain why things move markets. What you do with it is your call. Commentary and education only. Not financial advice.