Glossary

A method of displaying the open, high, low and close prices for a financial instrument for a specific period.

Bar charts use single, vertical bars to illustrate a stock's price range and opening/closing prices for a designated time period. The bars may illustrate daily, weekly, or monthly periods. For example on a weekly chart, each bar represents one week and on a daily chart, each bar represents one day.

The top of the bar indicates the stock's highest price of the period. The bottom of the bar represents the stock's lowest price for that period. The small perpendicular bar on the left designates the stock's opening price. The one on the right shows the stock's closing price.

An investor who believes that a particular security or market is headed downward. Bears attempt to profit from a decline in prices. Bears are generally pessimistic about the state of a given market.

Bearish refers to falling stock prices.

An offer made by an investor, a trader or a dealer to buy a security. The bid will stipulate both the price at which the buyer is willing to purchase the security and the quantity to be purchased.

The amount by which the ask price exceeds the bid. This is essentially the difference in price between the highest price that a buyer is willing to pay for an asset and the lowest price for which a seller is willing to sell it.

A term for a rise in a security's price above a resistance level (usually its previous high) or a drop below a support level (usually its previous low).

The price threshold, defined by the pattern, that a stock's price must cross in order to confirm that the pattern has formed.

A person that buys or sells an investment vehicle for you (securities, bonds, commodities, etc.,) in exchange for a fee which is called a commission.