Market Data Articles and Guides
TickerPosts guides and articles tagged market data. Plain-English, calm, and written for everyday investors. 12 posts.
Trading Volume and Relative Volume Explained for Stock Investors
Volume and relative volume help investors separate ordinary trading from unusual activity, but they do not explain the reason by themselves.
· 2 min read
What Is Stock Market Volatility?
Volatility describes how much prices move. Learn why volatile stocks can feel exciting, why they are harder to trade, and how to separate movement from information.
· 1 min read
What Is Beta in Stocks?
Beta compares a stock's movement with the broader market. Learn what a beta above or below 1 can suggest and why it is only a backward-looking risk clue.
· 1 min read
What Is Market Cap?
Market cap is the total market value of a company's shares. This beginner guide explains the formula, why it matters, and why size alone does not make a stock safe or risky.
· 1 min read
What Is a Dividend?
A dividend is a cash payment a company sends its shareholders out of its profits. A plain-English guide to how dividends work, the dates that decide who gets paid, what dividend yield really tells you, and why a very high yield can be a warning rather than a gift.
· 4 min read
Market Orders vs. Limit Orders
When you buy or sell a stock you also choose how the order fills, and the two basic choices are a market order and a limit order. A plain-English guide to the difference, the trade-off between speed and price control, and when that difference matters most.
· 3 min read
How to Read a Stock Chart
A stock chart is a picture of what the price did over time, and learning to read it is useful as long as you remember what it can and cannot tell you. A plain-English guide to the axes, line versus candlestick charts, volume bars, trend, and the indicators you will see, plus the one thing a chart can never show.
· 4 min read
What Is a Stock Split?
A stock split changes how many shares exist and what each one costs, without changing what the company or your position is worth. A plain-English guide to what a split actually does, why companies do it, and why a reverse split deserves a closer look.
· 3 min read
What Is an ETF?
An ETF lets you buy a whole basket of stocks in a single trade, which is why tickers like SPY and QQQ show up in so many discussions. A plain-English guide to what an exchange-traded fund is, how it differs from a single stock, the main types you will meet, and what to check before buying one.
· 4 min read
What Does Unusual Volume Mean?
A stock trading on many times its normal volume is telling you that something changed. It does not tell you what, or whether the move will last. A plain-English guide to reading an unusual-volume spike: what counts as unusual, the difference between scheduled and unscheduled spikes, and the manipulation angle worth keeping in mind.
· 3 min read
How to Read Stock Volume
Volume is the number of shares that changed hands in a given period. It does not tell you which way a stock is going, but it tells you how seriously to take the move. A plain-English guide to what volume measures, what unusual volume can signal, and how to read price and volume together.
· 8 min read
Understanding Market Movers: Gainers, Losers, and Volume
The market highlights on the TickerPosts homepage surface the stocks making the biggest moves. Here is what each category tells you.
· 1 min read