NEWBIE GLOSSARY

A

Ask
The quoted offer at which someone can buy; also called the offer price.

B

Balance
The total financial result of all fully executed transactions and deposits/withdrawals to/from an account.
Base currency
Currency unit in which an account, balances, commission fees and payments are designated and calculated.
Bid
The price of the demand, the price you sell for.

C

Commission
Broker commissions for operation handling.

E

Equity
The secure part of the client account, considering the open positions, bound with the balance and floating rate (profit/loss) by the following formula: Balance + Floating rate + Swap, i.e. the funds on the client account less the current amount for the open positions, plus the current earnings for the open positions.

L

Lot
Definite amount of units or amount of money accepted for operations handling. 100,000 units of the base currency of the currency pair, which you are buying or selling.

M

Margin
Funds that investor needs to keep at broker account to execute trades to cover any potential losses from adverse movements in prices. Equal to 1% (when leverage = 1:100) of an open position deposit.
Margin level
Determines the condition of an account. Calculated according to the formula: (Equity / Margin) * 100%.
Market Price
The current price for which the currency is traded for on the market.

O

Open position
An active trade with corresponding unrealized P&L, which has not been offset by an equal and opposite deal.

P

Pips (ticks)
The term used in currency markets to represent the smallest incremental move an exchange rate can make. Depending on context, normally one basis point. For example, 0.0001 in the case of EUR/USD, GBD/USD, USD/CHF and .01 in the case of USD/JPY.
Pending order
The client instructs the dealer to buy or sell once the price reaches the order level.
Portfolio
A collection of investments owned by an entity.

S

Stop-Loss Orders (SL)
An order linked to a specific position to close that position and prevent additional losses. A stop-loss order will be executed when the displayed price on GTS touches the order price. The executed price will be the order price or in the case of a fast market the order will be executed at the next displayed price. When a stop-loss order is placed on a buy position it is an order to sell that position. While a stop-loss order on a sell position is an order to buy that position. All stop-loss orders remain in effect until the position is liquidated or cancelled by the client.
Stop out
This is when a position is closed due to the execution of a stop order.
Swaps
A foreign exchange swap is a trade that combines both a spot and a forward transaction into one deal, or two forward trades with different maturity dates.
Spread
The difference between the bid and offer (ask) prices; also known as a two-way price.

T

Take-Profit Order (TP)
An order to sell or buy a lot when the market reaches certain price. It is used to fixate your profit. Usually is a combination of stop-order and limit-order.