Markets & Business Glossary

A plain-English reference to the terms that run through LatentNow's briefings, Markets page, and Business feed. Each entry explains what the word means and, where it helps, why it matters to anyone following the market.

After-hours trading

Trading that takes place after the regular U.S. stock market session closes at 4:00 PM ET, handled through electronic venues. Volume is thinner and prices can swing more, which is why a stock can jump on results released after the bell yet open at a different level the next morning. Our After Hours briefing covers this window.

All-time high

The highest price a stock, index, or other asset has ever reached. Records draw attention because they signal strong momentum, but a new high on its own says nothing about whether an asset is cheap or expensive.

Basis point

One hundredth of a percentage point, so 100 basis points equal 1%. Rates and yields move in increments small enough that traders talk in basis points to avoid confusion. A central bank raising by 25 basis points means a quarter-point increase.

Bear market

A sustained decline in prices, conventionally a drop of 20% or more from a recent peak. The label matters because deep, prolonged sell-offs tend to change how investors price risk across every asset.

Bid-ask spread

The gap between the highest price a buyer will pay (the bid) and the lowest a seller will accept (the ask). A narrow spread points to an active, liquid market; a wide one means trading costs more and signals thin interest.

Bitcoin

The first and largest cryptocurrency, a digital asset recorded on a public blockchain rather than issued by any government or bank. Its price is volatile and increasingly tracked alongside traditional markets as larger institutions take on exposure.

Bull market

A sustained rise in prices, often dated from a 20% gain off a recent low. Bull markets tend to coincide with optimism about economic growth and corporate earnings.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

A monthly U.S. government gauge of what households pay for a representative basket of goods and services. It is the headline measure of inflation, and a hotter- or cooler-than-expected reading routinely moves stocks and bonds within minutes.

Dividend

A share of a company's profits paid out to shareholders, usually in cash and on a regular schedule. Steady or rising dividends are often read as a sign of financial health and management confidence.

Earnings

A company's profit over a set period, reported each quarter alongside revenue and guidance. Earnings season is one of the busiest stretches for markets, because the results, and the outlook management gives, can reset a stock quickly.

Equity (stock)

A unit of ownership in a company. Hold a share and you own a slice of the business and a claim on its future profits, which is why equity prices ultimately track expectations for those profits.

Federal funds rate

The interest rate U.S. banks charge one another for overnight loans, steered by the Federal Reserve. It is the Fed's main lever on the economy: moving it ripples out to borrowing costs on everything from mortgages to corporate debt.

GDP (gross domestic product)

The total value of the goods and services an economy produces over a period, and the broadest single measure of economic output. Whether GDP is growing or shrinking frames almost every other read on the economy.

Index fund / ETF

A fund that holds a basket of securities to track a market index rather than trying to beat it. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) trade like stocks throughout the day, giving investors low-cost, diversified exposure in a single ticker.

Inflation

The rate at which prices rise across the economy over time, eroding the purchasing power of money. It sits at the center of markets because persistent inflation shapes how central banks set interest rates.

IPO (initial public offering)

The first sale of a private company's shares to the public, the moment it begins trading on an exchange. IPOs are watched as a gauge of risk appetite; a busy IPO calendar usually signals confident markets.

Liquidity

How easily an asset can be bought or sold without moving its price much. Highly liquid markets let large orders trade quickly at stable prices; when liquidity dries up, prices can gap sharply.

Market capitalization

The total market value of a company's shares, calculated as the share price times the number of shares outstanding. It is the standard way to size a company and to sort the market into large-, mid-, and small-cap tiers.

Market order vs. limit order

A market order buys or sells immediately at the best price available, prioritizing speed; a limit order sets the worst price you will accept and waits until the market reaches it. The trade-off is certainty of execution against certainty of price.

Megacap

An informal label for the very largest public companies, typically those worth hundreds of billions of dollars or more. Because megacaps carry the most weight in major indexes, their moves can pull the whole market with them.

On-chain

Activity recorded directly on a blockchain's public ledger, such as transfers between wallets, as opposed to trades that happen on a private exchange's internal books. On-chain data lets analysts observe crypto flows that would otherwise be invisible.

P/E ratio

The price-to-earnings ratio, a stock's price divided by its earnings per share. It is a quick gauge of how much investors will pay for each dollar of profit: a high P/E implies expectations of strong growth, a low one caution or doubt.

Recession

A meaningful, broad-based contraction in economic activity that lasts more than a few months. Recessions reshape corporate earnings, employment, and interest-rate policy, so markets spend a lot of energy trying to anticipate them.

Sector

A grouping of companies in the same line of business, such as technology, energy, or financials. Sorting the market into sectors helps readers see whether a move is broad or concentrated in one corner.

Short selling

Selling borrowed shares in a bet that the price will fall, with the aim of buying them back cheaper to return them. It can amplify declines, and a sharp rally can force shorts to buy back at a loss, a "short squeeze."

Soft landing

An outcome in which a central bank cools inflation by raising rates without tipping the economy into recession. It is the policy ideal, and markets often rally when the data suggests one is within reach.

Stablecoin

A cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value, usually pegged to a national currency like the U.S. dollar and backed by reserves. Stablecoins are widely used to move money between crypto venues without converting back to cash.

Ticker symbol

The short string of letters that identifies a security on an exchange, the handful of characters you enter to pull up a quote. Tickers are the shorthand markets use to refer to companies precisely.

Treasury yield

The return an investor earns on U.S. government debt, which moves in the opposite direction to the bond's price. Treasury yields are a benchmark for borrowing costs worldwide, so a sharp move tends to reverberate through stocks and currencies.

Volatility

The degree to which a price swings up and down over time. Higher volatility means bigger, faster moves in both directions, and it serves as common shorthand for market risk and nervousness.

Volume

The number of shares or contracts traded over a given period. Heavy volume behind a price move suggests conviction, while a large move on light volume is treated with more skepticism.

Yield curve

A plot of the yields on government bonds across maturities, from short-term to long-term. Its shape is closely watched: when short-term yields rise above long-term ones (an "inverted" curve), it has historically preceded recessions.

These definitions are background for reading the market, not guidance for trading it. Nothing on LatentNow is investment advice, and market data is delayed at least 15 minutes and provided for information only. For how we check figures and handle corrections, see our Editorial Standards.