A glossary of market terms
The words you keep seeing in market news, defined simply.
Market coverage is full of jargon. Here are the terms you will meet most often, in plain language.
- Bull market — a period of generally rising prices and optimism. A 'bear market' is the opposite: falling prices and pessimism, usually defined as a drop of 20% or more.
- Index — a basket of stocks used to measure a whole market, such as the S&P 500 or Nasdaq.
- Dividend — a share of a company's profits paid out to shareholders, usually every quarter.
- Earnings — a company's profits, reported every three months. 'Beating' or 'missing' earnings refers to whether results were better or worse than analysts expected.
- The Fed — the US Federal Reserve, the central bank that sets US interest rates.
- Interest rate — the cost of borrowing money; when central banks raise or cut it, markets react strongly.
- Inflation — how fast prices across the economy are rising, tracked by reports like CPI.
- Yield — the interest return on a bond; rising yields often signal expectations of higher interest rates.
- Volatility — how sharply and quickly prices are moving. High volatility means big swings.
- Bond — a loan to a government or company that pays interest, generally seen as safer than stocks.
- Commodity — a raw material such as oil, gold or wheat that is traded on global markets.
- Ticker — the short symbol used to identify a stock, such as AAPL for Apple.
Nothing on this site is financial advice. Markets carry risk — always do your own research.