Simple, practical explainers on the stock market, IPOs and investing.
Looking for one term? The A–Z glossary lists every explainer on one page.
25 articles
An ISIN is a twelve-character code that identifies exactly one security. In India NSDL allots it for most instruments, the RBI for government securities, and every demat holding sits against one.
T+1 settlement means a share trade completes one working day after it happens: shares reach the buyer's demat account and sale money reaches the seller on the next working day after the trade.
The record date is when a company reads its register to fix who receives a dividend or bonus; the ex-date is the first trading day a buyer misses out. Under T+1, both fall on the same day in India.
A dividend is a cash distribution from a company's profits or free reserves, paid per share to holders on the record date. The board sets the amount, and no equity dividend is guaranteed.
Book value is a company's assets minus its liabilities — the shareholders' equity on the balance sheet. Divided by the share count it becomes book value per share, the number behind the P/B ratio.
Face value is the fixed nominal value a company assigns to each share. It anchors share capital, splits and percentage dividends — and has almost nothing to do with market price.
The upper circuit is the highest price a stock can trade at in a session and the lower circuit is the lowest, both set from the previous close. Hitting one blocks orders beyond it — it does not halt trading.
A circuit limit is the most a price can move in one session: stocks get daily bands of 2-20% around the previous close, and the whole market halts on a 10, 15 or 20% index move.
Number of trades counts matched executions, while volume counts shares. Volume divided by trades gives average trade size — a quick read on whether activity was many small orders or a few large ones.
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