Clear explanations of the market, macro, and trading terms used across MyTrade Academy.
The bid-ask spread is the gap between the highest price a buyer will pay and the lowest price a seller will accept. It is one of the most immediate costs of trading.
Read definitionThe bid is the best price standing on the buy side of the order book. Selling immediately means accepting it — which is why the bid, not the last traded price, values your position.
Read definitionThe momentum factor sorts assets by past relative performance, buying historical outperformers and selling underperformers across a defined investment universe.
Read definitionThe price-to-earnings ratio compares a share price with earnings per share. P/E needs context from history, peers, growth, and earnings quality before it can be called high or low.
Read definitionThe put/call ratio compares put activity with call activity using volume or open interest. It describes options-market structure but does not translate directly into bullish or bearish direction.
Read definitionThe spot market is where assets or commodities are bought and sold for near-term delivery, making it especially useful for reading immediate physical tightness.
Read definitionThe trading decision loop runs from market view to sizing to entry to exit to review, then feeds the next view. It is the process the plan's steps form when they run together.
Read definitionThe value factor ranks assets by valuation multiples such as book-to-market, P/E, or cash flow yield, capturing systematic long-term risk premia across baskets.
Read definitionThe VIX is a Cboe index designed to measure 30-day expected volatility from S&P 500 option prices. Its 'fear gauge' nickname is useful shorthand but can be misleading.
Read definitionTick data records every single executed transaction with exact timestamps, price, and volume, providing the foundation for microstructure and execution analysis.
Read definitionTime-in-force is an order parameter that specifies how long an order remains active before expiring or being canceled.
Read definitionTracking error measures how closely a fund's return matches its index. Fees, sampling, currency, and rebalancing create the difference.
Read definitionTrade attribution separates an outcome into strategy, sizing, execution, discipline, and random components for review.
Read definitionTrading expectancy estimates the average profit or loss per trade from win probability, average gain, and average loss.
Read definitionTrading expectancy combines win rate, average win, and average loss. A strategy's long-run edge cannot be judged by how often it is right alone.
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