Very Simple and Stupid Question

safvan

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The prices of stocks that are displayed live. Is it the ASK price or the BID price?

Thank you.(y)
 
I always thought it was the Mid. (average between bid ask)
That could be a stupid answer.
 
Its actually an interesting question. I could not find an answer hence I asked.

Also whats the definition of a farily liquid stock? Is it dollar volume or plain volume?
 
the tick price is the mid BID to OFFER spread

A liquid asset has some or all of the following features. It can be sold rapidly, with minimal loss of value, any time within market hours. The essential characteristic of a liquid market is that there are ready and willing buyers and sellers at all times. Another elegant definition of liquidity is the probability that the next trade is executed at a price equal to the last one. A market may be considered deeply liquid if there are ready and willing buyers and sellers in large quantities. This is related to the concept of market depth that can be measured as the units that can be sold or bought for a given price impact. The opposite concept is that of market breadth measured as the price impact per unit of liquidity.

extract from wiki
 
If you are spreadetting then I don't know the answer. In the US an equities quote on the tape is the LAST price transacted regardless if it was on the bid or offer or midway. Alternately, if you call your broker and just ask for a price on a particular stock they usually give you the current bid & ask.

Peter
 
In forex, it is the last Sell price. Forex does not use the mid point All forex charts use the last Sell price that was executed.
 
The prices of stocks that are displayed live. Is it the ASK price or the BID price?

Thank you.(y)

The price is the LAST actual trade that ocurred in that stock at any given time. The BID is what someone is willing to pay to buy the stock and the ASK is what someone is willing to sell it for. The spread is the difference between the 2 and the LAST price usually lies somewhere between the bid and ask. At some point the seller really wants to sell and sells for the bid price and this drives prices down as bids get lower and lower. The opposite occurs when a bidder desparately wants to buy a stock and is willing to pay the ask price,...this drives prices up as ask prices become higher and higher. When the bidder and asker (buyer and seller) AGREE on a price,...THAT becomes the actual price and LAST price shown. Then the bids and asks adjust up or down appropriately and it happens all over again billions of times a day.
 
In forex, it is the last Sell price. Forex does not use the mid point All forex charts use the last Sell price that was executed.
With some forex platforms you can choose to chart either the bid or the ask price, and you can flick between the two.
 
With some forex platforms you can choose to chart either the bid or the ask price, and you can flick between the two.

Yes. But the actual Sell price is the LAST sell price. You can modify the Chart to reflect either the bid or the ask price but the actual transaction is on the Sell price
 
The price displayed live = the current quote = the price of the last sale.

Whenever you see a stock quote on tv, or some other ticker. It is not the price it will cost you to buy the stock. It is the price it costed the last person to buy the stock. Keep in mind..
 
No. The LAST price is the last Sell price.

Agreed,...I said that.... but once a sale occurs there may be a bid below or an ask above that price if there is a reasonably large spread. The LAST SALE price will usually lie somewhere between the NEWEST bid and ask unless there is little spread between bid and ask. We are sayingthe same thing.
 
Yes. But the actual Sell price is the LAST sell price. You can modify the Chart to reflect either the bid or the ask price but the actual transaction is on the Sell price
Not sure I'm with you. If I choose to go long, the transaction will occur on the BUY price, which will be the ask price on my charts. If i go short, the transaction will occur at the SELL price which will be the bid price on my charts. As far as I can tell, my charts provide me with quotes irrespective of whether whether any actual transactions occurred at that price.
 
Not sure I'm with you. If I choose to go long, the transaction will occur on the BUY price, which will be the ask price on my charts. If i go short, the transaction will occur at the SELL price which will be the bid price on my charts. As far as I can tell, my charts provide me with quotes irrespective of whether whether any actual transactions occurred at that price.

The charts do NOT provide you with quotes (the Bid and the Ask).
Your charts will provide you with a chart of all the last Sell prices.
 
The charts do NOT provide you with quotes (the Bid and the Ask).
Your charts will provide you with a chart of all the last Sell prices.
The prices my forex charts indicate match precisely with the Bid and Ask. I'd be pretty pissed if they didn't to be frank.
 
That is only because the bid and ask are identical to (or a small number of ticks away from) the last price sold. They are charting the last price sold - of this rest assured.
 
The prices my forex charts indicate match precisely with the Bid and Ask. I'd be pretty pissed if they didn't to be frank.

So your charts have TWO sets of lines? One for the Bid and one for the Ask? With a 2 pip spread between them?
And in times of News announcements, the TWO lines have a bigger space between them for the increased spread?

I reckon you should ask your broker what the CHARTING package that you use is set at. Using the Bid or the Ask.
 
So your charts have TWO sets of lines? One for the Bid and one for the Ask? With a 2 pip spread between them?
And in times of News announcements, the TWO lines have a bigger space between them for the increased spread?

I reckon you should ask your broker what the CHARTING package that you use is set at. Using the Bid or the Ask.
I can (and do) flick between the bid chart and the ask chart. If I go short, I'll flick to the ask chart to determine stops and targets, because it will be the ask price I exit on. If I go long, I'll flick to the bid chart, because it will be the bid prices that I will need to hit my target/s. They are not displayed on the one chart. In times of news announcements or low market liquidity, the two charts can look noticeably different.

The prices shown on the charts match exactly those on the bid/ask window. There is not a shred of difference and they move in unison. This is why I believe I am seeing quoted prices and not transacted prices, but I can check with my broker.
 
Most charts show the LAST TRANSACTION occurred whether it was a Bid or Offer.
The only thing I can add to this thread is this: Some transaction happen within 1 second and it that case some quote vendors average it out. This is filtered data and its never good for charting purposes.
 
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