Erics,
I can only assume that by the 'spread' you mean the difference between the bid and offer prices; if that is the case, you need to do a lot more homework. I am not trying to be rude or anything else along those lines but, everything in the markets has a spread and if you do not know the basics you do not have a chance. You will need to read a couple of basic books about the stockmarket before you commit a penny to the markets. Once you have a fair grasp of the basics you can read some of the threads on the boards here and further enhance your knowledge.
I can only assume that by the 'spread' you mean the difference between the bid and offer prices; if that is the case, you need to do a lot more homework. I am not trying to be rude or anything else along those lines but, everything in the markets has a spread and if you do not know the basics you do not have a chance. You will need to read a couple of basic books about the stockmarket before you commit a penny to the markets. Once you have a fair grasp of the basics you can read some of the threads on the boards here and further enhance your knowledge.
Erics,
The spread is the difference between the bid and ask price. This varies constantly as buyers and sellers change their quotes on a continual basis. It will also change depending on which platform you look at.
For instance, if you look at a direct access broker, then you get the true spread eg ABC company is being quoted at 12.45 / 12.47, this is a 2 tick (/ cent / pence / euro or whatever) spread, but at the exact time, a Spreadbet company my be offering ABC company at 12.42 / 12.49 as they make money on the spread rather than on commission charges.
So, how do you find out the spread - look at the price being quoted.
The spread is the difference between the bid and ask price. This varies constantly as buyers and sellers change their quotes on a continual basis. It will also change depending on which platform you look at.
For instance, if you look at a direct access broker, then you get the true spread eg ABC company is being quoted at 12.45 / 12.47, this is a 2 tick (/ cent / pence / euro or whatever) spread, but at the exact time, a Spreadbet company my be offering ABC company at 12.42 / 12.49 as they make money on the spread rather than on commission charges.
So, how do you find out the spread - look at the price being quoted.
Racer
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The spread is as said.. the difference between buying and selling.
This varies a lot during the day, for both FTSE 100 and small caps/AIM
For larger caps the spread is determined by the order book... i.e., participants placing their orders onto a book, only the top of this is displayed .. the yellow strip.. and is the price quoted to you when you want to buy or sell physical stock.
Very small caps are dominated by market makers.. they determine the spread and this can change, narrow /widen during the day. Also if you are trading more than the normal trading deal the price quoted may not be the one you get!
In between there is a mixture and that also varies during the day!
Larger caps generally have smaller spreads because of the liquidity and you can generally get the price quoted or inside the spread if you have a broker that does this.
This varies a lot during the day, for both FTSE 100 and small caps/AIM
For larger caps the spread is determined by the order book... i.e., participants placing their orders onto a book, only the top of this is displayed .. the yellow strip.. and is the price quoted to you when you want to buy or sell physical stock.
Very small caps are dominated by market makers.. they determine the spread and this can change, narrow /widen during the day. Also if you are trading more than the normal trading deal the price quoted may not be the one you get!
In between there is a mixture and that also varies during the day!
Larger caps generally have smaller spreads because of the liquidity and you can generally get the price quoted or inside the spread if you have a broker that does this.
