Getting familiar with market-related concepts
Now that we are done with the basics, let’s move on to some terms and concepts you would frequently hear with respect to the stock markets.
WHAT ARE DIVIDENDS?
As we learned earlier, a share is a portion of the company. When the company makes profits, you often receive a part of it. This is the idea behind dividends. Every year, companies distribute a small amount of profits to investors as dividends. This is the primary source of income for long-term shareholders – those who don’t sell the stock for years together.
WHAT IS MARKET CAPITALIZATION?
Different companies issue varied amounts of shares when they get listed. The value of one share also differs from that of another company’s stock. Market capitalization smoothens out these differences. It is the market stock price multiplied by the total number of shares held by the public. It, thus, reflects the total market value of a stock taking into consideration both the size and the price of the stock. For example, if a stock is priced at Rs. 50 per share, and there are 1,00,000 shares in the hands of public investors, then its market capitalization stands at Rs. 50,00,000.
Market capitalization matters when stacking stocks into different indices. It also decides the weightage of a stock in the index. This means, bigger the company’s market value, the more its price fluctuations affect the value of the index.
WHAT ARE ROLLING SETTLEMENTS?
Supposing your friend agrees to buy a book for you from a bookshop, you will have to pay him for it eventually. Similarly, after you have bought or sold shares through your broker, the trade has to be settled. Meaning, the buyer has to receive his shares and the seller has to receive his money. Settlement is the process whereby payment is made by the buyers, and shares are delivered by the sellers.
A rolling settlement implies that all trades have to be settled by the end of the day. Hence, the entire transaction – where the buyer pays for securities purchased and seller delivers the shares sold – have to be completed in a day.
In India, we have adopted the T+2 settlements cycle. This means that a transaction conducted on Day 1 has to be settled on the Day 1 + 2 working days. This is when funds are paid and securities are transferred. Thus, 'T+2' here, refers to Today + 2 working days. Saturdays and Sundays are not considered as working days. So, if you enter into a transaction on Friday, the trade will be settled not on Sunday, but on Tuesday. Even bank and exchange holidays are excluded
WHAT IS SHORT-SELLING?
An investor sells short when he anticipates that the price of a stock may fall from the existing price. So, the investor borrows a share and sells it. Once the share price dips, he will buy the same share at a lower price, and return it back, while pocketing a profit in the bargain. Simply put, you first sell at a high and then buy at a low. Short-selling helps traders profit from declining stock and index prices. Since this is usually conducted in anticipation of a stock movement, short-selling is considered a risky proposition.
Let us take an example. Suppose you expect shares of Infosys to fall tomorrow for whatever reason, you enter an order to sell shares of Infosys at the current market price. Once the share price falls adequately tomorrow, you buy at the lower rate. The difference in the sale and buying prices is your profit. However, if the share prices increase after you sold at a reduced price, then you end up with a loss.
WHAT ARE CIRCUIT FILTERS AND TRADING BANDS?
Some stocks are more volatile than others. Too much volatility is not good for investors. To curb this volatility, SEBI has come up with the concept of circuit filters. The market regulator has specified the maximum limit the price of a stock can move on a given day. This is called a price trading band. If a stock breaches this limit, trading is halted in that stock for a while. There are three levels of limits. Each limit leads to trading halt for a progressively longer duration. If all three circuit filters are breached, then trading is halted for the rest of the day. NSE define circuit filters in 5 categories including 2%, 5%, 10%, 20% and no circuit filter.
Also, prices may not be same on the two exchanges – NSE and BSE. So, circuit filters can be different for shares on the two exchanges.
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