Quote
The quote page is the full live picture of one share: the price you could actually buy or sell it at right now, how far it has moved today, and the chart, news, dividends, and discussion behind it.
A share price is not one number. At any moment there is a bid, the highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay, and an offer, the lowest price a seller will currently accept. If you buy you pay the offer; if you sell you receive the bid. The difference is the spread, and on a small or illiquid share it can be several percent, which is a cost that comes straight out of any gain you make. The last trade is the price at which the most recent deal actually went through. It can be at the bid, at the offer, or somewhere between, and it may be minutes old. It tells you what happened, not what is available to you now, so it is never a substitute for the bid and offer.
The quote page shows you all of this together with the change against the previous close, in money and in percent, and the day's high, low, and volume. Below the price sit the chart of where the price has been, the raw data fields, the headlines about the company, its dividend history, disclosed short positions where the exchange publishes them, and the message-board threads and posts about it. Level 2 shows you the orders queued behind the quote, and the trades list shows every deal that has gone through.
Each symbol lives on a market, and the market is part of its identity because the same ticker can exist on more than one exchange. London shares are on XLON, US shares on BATS, and currencies, metals, and bitcoin on FX. London quotes are delayed until you have signed the free private-investor declaration on Feeds, and live after that.
Questions
Why is the last trade different from the price shown?
The last trade is the most recent deal that went through; the quote is the bid and offer available to you now. They are different figures, and the last trade is often older.
Why are London prices delayed?
Until you sign the free private-investor declaration, the exchange only allows delayed data. After you sign, London quotes are live.
What does the market code in the address mean?
XLON is the London Stock Exchange, BATS is US shares, and FX is currencies, metals, and bitcoin. The same ticker can exist on more than one market, so the code says which one.
Pages in this topic
| Quote news | Read what's been announced about this company. |
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| Dividends | Check this company's dividend record. |
Related pages
| Level 2 | The quote shows you the best bid and best offer. Level 2 shows how many shares are wanted and available at those prices and at every price behind them, which tells you whether the quote will hold. |
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| Trades | Trades is the list of every deal that has actually gone through, with time, price, and size. It shows you the pace and size of dealing, which the quote alone does not. |
| Chart | The chart shows you where the price has been over days, months, or years. The quote is only where it stands now. |
| Symbol data | Symbol data lists the raw fields behind the quote, unformatted, for when you want to check exactly what figure the page is using. |