Micro Stock Terms

NASDAQ (What is the NASDAQ and how many stocks are in it)

American stock exchange in New York City, second on the list of stock exchanges by market capitalization of shares traded; there are 3,000 stocks in it

Normal hours the US stock market is open for trading? Hours of operation? (excluding holidays)

Normal hours of operation for the US stock market for trading is from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday

Bear Market

a financial market where the prices are falling or are expected to fall, general decline in the stock market

Bull Market

a financial market where the prices are rising or are supposed to rise

DOW Jones Industrial Average (What is the DOW JIA and how many stocks are in it)

a stock market that measures stock performances of large companies; there are 30 stocks in it

Blue Chip Stock

a stock that comes from a well-known company

Net Worth

assets minus liabilities; measure of the worth of an entity; properties owned; value of a company

Middle Cap = (asset range to be considered Mid Cap)

company whose market capitalization is between $2 billion and $10 billion

Large Cap = (asset range to be considered Large Cap)

company whose market capitalization is over $10 billion

Small Cap = (asset range to be considered Small Cap)

company whose market capitalization is under $2 billion

stocks/shares

equal parts that a company's capital is divided into, the owners are entitled to a portion of the company's profits

Lot of share (how many is a normal or even lot)?

fixed quantity of units, depends on financial security; normal or even lot is 100 shares

Portfolio

grouping of financial assets like stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, cash, and different kinds of funds; held by investors, financial professors, and money managers

Hedge

investment used to reduce the risk of price movements in an asset

Beta

measure of a stock's volatility in relation to overall market

Economic/Business Cycle

movement of gross domestic product around its long-term growth trend

S&P 500 (What is the S&P 500 and how many stocks are in it)

one of the best representations of stock markets in US, stock market that measures stock performances of large companies listed on stock exchanges; there are 505 stocks in it

IPO

process of offering a private corporation's shares to the public in the form of a new stock

Volatility

rate that the price of a security increases or decreases for a set of returns

401(k)

retirement plan that allows employees of companies to save and invest for their retirement on a tax deferred basis

529 Plan

tax-advantaged investment designed to encourage saving for the future higher education expenses

Dividend

the distribution of reward from a portion of the company's earnings and paid to its shareholders; can be issued as cash payments, shares of stock, or other property

Stock Split

the number of shares of a company increases, but market cap stays the same; as number of shares increase, price per share goes down

mutual funds

when many investors invest in stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other things, and it is all pooled together