Glossary

Click on a letter to browse the terms associated with it.

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Daily change	The daily change in the price of a share or other security, i.e. the difference between the most recent price of a security and the previous day's closing price.
Daily Close	The settled price at which a traded instrument is last traded at on a particular trading day. Also known as closing price.
Daily high	The highest price traded by a security or currency during a given day. It can also refer to the highest point reached by an index
Daily Low	The lowest price traded by a security or currency during a given day. It can also refer to the lowest point reached by an index.
Daily Offical List	The daily record setting out the prices of all trades in shares and other securities conducted on the London Stock Exchange.
Date of Record	The date by which a shareholder must own shares in order to qualify for a dividend
Day Order	An order placed with a broker to purchase or sell stock, a commodity or financial instrument at specified price limits. If not executed that day the order becomes invalid and the broker will not process it.
Day Trading	Refers to a style or type of trading where trade positions are opened and closed during the same day.
Deal	A transaction on a stock exchange by a broker or institution etc.
Deferred Futures	Futures contracts that expire during the more distant months.
Delta	A measure of the rate of change in an option's theoretical value for a one-unit change in the price of the underlying asset.
Delivery	In general, the transfer of title, or ownership rights, of a security such as stock from buyer to seller. More specifically, the settlement of a futures contract by receipt or tender of a financial instrument (for example stock) or a commodity or by cash settlement
Delivery notice	Notification of delivery by a clearing house to a buyer. The notice is initiated by the seller in the form of a 'Notice of Intention to Deliver.'
Depreciation	A fall in the value of a currency due to market forces.
Depth of market	A market is said to be deep if a large number of the securities can be bought or sold without an appreciable impact on the price.
Derivatives	Financial contracts the value of which depends on the value of the underlying instrument - commodity, bond, equity, currency or a combination.
Deposit	A deposit account with a bank or financial institution which earns interest normally proportional to and below current base rates. The notice period for withdrawal will also affect the interest rate. In contrast to a current account, no cheque book is issued with a deposit account. A deposit can also refer to money transferred in advance to show intention to complete the purchase of a property and the deposit in this case is forfeited if the purchaser fails to complete on the contract.
Desk	erm referring to a group dealing with a specific currency or currencies.
Devaluation	The act by a government to reduce the external value of its currency.
Diagonal Spread	A strategy involving the simultaneous purchase and sale of two options of the same type that have different strike prices and different expiration dates.
Direct quotation	Quoting in fixed units of foreign currency against variable amounts of the domestic currency.
Discretionary Account	An account in which the customer permits a trading institution to act on the customer's behalf in buying and selling currency pairs. The institution has discretion as to the choice of currency pairs, prices, and timing-subject to any limitations specified in the agreement.
Discretionary broker	A broker who not only deals in stocks and shares on behalf of his client, but who also makes the decisions about what should be bought and sold for the portfolio and has authority to execute those decisions without getting prior approval from the client. Also known as a full-service account.
Divergences	When two or more averages or indices fail to show confirming trends.