139+ Trading Terms Explained

Trading that occurs after the regular market session closes at 4:00 PM ET, typically available from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM ET. After-hours volum

A bear market is a sustained decline of 20% or more in a major stock index from recent highs — characterized by falling prices, deterioratin

A breakout is when price moves decisively beyond a defined level — a resistance zone, a consolidation boundary, a chart pattern boundary, or

A bull market is a sustained period of rising prices in the broader market — traditionally defined as a 20% or greater rise from a recent si

A catalyst is the specific event or news item that triggers unusual price movement in a stock — earnings reports, FDA decisions, analyst upg

Consolidation is a period where price moves sideways within a relatively tight range after a directional move — it reflects a temporary equi

A false breakout occurs when price moves beyond a key level (resistance, support, a chart pattern boundary) but fails to sustain the move an

Float is the number of shares of a company that are actually available for public trading — it excludes shares held by insiders, major insti

A gap is a price discontinuity on a chart where a stock opens significantly higher or lower than the previous session's close, leaving a vis

A temporary suspension of trading in a specific stock, ordered by an exchange or regulator. Halts pause all buying and selling activity and

A higher high occurs when price makes a swing peak that is above the previous swing peak — it's one of the two defining features of an uptre

A higher low is a swing low that is above the previous swing low — paired with higher highs, it's the second component that confirms an uptr

Liquidity in trading refers to how easily you can enter and exit a position at a fair price — a liquid stock has high volume and a tight bid

A lower high is a swing high that is below the previous swing high — paired with lower lows, it's the second component that confirms a downt

A lower low is when price makes a swing low that is below the previous swing low, confirming a downtrend in market structure — the mirror im

Pre-market trading is the session that occurs between 4:00 AM and 9:30 AM Eastern, before the regular market opens — it allows traders to re

A pullback is a temporary counter-trend price movement within an established trend — in an uptrend, a pullback is a short-term decline that

A range (or trading range) is a price zone where a stock oscillates between a defined support floor and resistance ceiling without making me

Relative volume (RVOL) compares a stock's current trading volume to its average volume for the same time of day, expressed as a multiple — a

Resistance is a price level where selling pressure has historically overcome buying pressure, causing price to stall, reverse, or consolidat

A broad grouping of companies that operate in the same segment of the economy — such as Technology, Healthcare, Energy, or Financials. Stock

Short interest is the total number of a stock's shares currently sold short, expressed as a percentage of the float — it measures the collec

Support is a price level where buying pressure has historically overcome selling pressure, causing price to stop declining and reverse — it'

A trend is a sustained directional movement in price over time — an uptrend is characterized by a sequence of higher highs and higher lows,

The CBOE Volatility Index — a real-time measure of the market's expectation for 30-day volatility in the S&P 500, derived from the prices of

Volume is the total number of shares (or contracts) traded during a given time period — it's the primary confirmation tool for all price act