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Friday, April 26, 2024
Knowledge BaseGlossary

Glossary

Algorithmic Trading can be a complex subject. Keep your knowledge current with this glossary of key concepts, terminology, and technical indicators.

Negative Volume Index - NVI

Negative Volume Index - NVI

A technical indicator that relies on changes in a security’s volume to identify when smart money is driving the current trend. The Negative Volume Index suggests that unsophisticated investors buy and sell primarily on high-volume days, while shrewd investors are more likely to trade on low-volume days. The concept was developed by Paul Dysart in the 1930s and later refined by Norman Fosback.

Net Volume

Net Volume

A term in technical analysis that represents a security's uptick volume minus its downtick volume over a specified period. The net volume of a stock is a consolidated total of the positive and negative movements of the security over the period. A stock that is said to have had a positive net volume over a given period will have seen greater upward movement in its price than downward.


Odd Lot Theory

Odd Lot Theory

A technical analysis theory/indicator based on the assumption that the small individual investor is always wrong. Therefore, if odd lot sales are up - that is small investors are selling stock - it is probably a good time to buy.

OHLC Chart

OHLC Chart

Short for "Open, High, Low, Close chart." This is a securities chart that clearly shows the opening, high, low and closing prices for a security.

On-Balance Volume (OBV)

On-Balance Volume (OBV)

A momentum indicator that uses volume flow to predict changes in stock price. On Balance Volume is a metric developed by Joseph Granville in the 1960s. He believed that, when volume increases sharply without a significant change in the stock’s price, the price will eventually jump upward, and vice versa. 

Ontario Securities Commission - OSC

Ontario Securities Commission - OSC

The securities regulator that supervises and enforces regulations for the Canadian province of Ontario. Among other responsibilities, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is responsible for regulating exchanges, Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs), and Quotation and Trade Reporting Systems (QTRSs).

Oscillator

Oscillator

A technical analysis tool that is banded between two extreme values and built with the results from a trend indicator for discovering short-term overbought or oversold conditions. As the value of the oscillator approaches the upper extreme value the asset is deemed to be overbought, and as it approaches the lower extreme it is deemed to be oversold.

OsMA

OsMA

An abbreviation for Oscillator - Moving Average. OsMA is used in technical analysis to represent the variance between an oscillator from its moving average, over a given period of time. Typically the primary line of the MACD will serve as the oscillator, with the signal line of the MACD then acting as the moving average. The OsMA relationship is one of the most fundamental in technical analysis.

Outside Days

Outside Days

A term employed by market technicians and day traders. Outside days are days where the chart bar is both higher and lower than that of the previous day. Outside days therefore mark greater volatility in the stock price for that day.

Outside Reversal

Outside Reversal

A price chart pattern in which a security's high and low prices for the day exceed those of the previous trading session. The outside reversal pattern is called by candlestick chartists and analysts a "bearish engulfing" pattern if the second bar is a down candlestick, and a "bullish engulfing" pattern if the second bar is an up candlestick.

Overbought

Overbought

A situation in which the demand for a certain asset unjustifiably pushes the price of an underlying asset to levels that do not support the fundamentals.

Oversold

Oversold

A condition in which the price of an underlying asset has fallen sharply, and to a level below which its true value resides. This condition is usually a result of market overreaction or panic selling.
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