Trading education
Plain-language definitions for the core pricing, exposure, platform, and risk terms used across this site.
Bid is the price normally available to sell; ask is the price normally available to buy; spread is the difference between them. A tick is a defined price increment. Swap or financing describes an account adjustment that may apply when a position is carried across a specified time.
Notional value is the wider economic size represented by a position. Margin is the amount set aside to support leveraged exposure. Balance reflects booked account transactions, while equity includes the current effect of open positions. Drawdown describes a decline from a previous value peak.
An order is an instruction, a deal records an execution, and a position represents resulting market exposure. A market order requests execution at available prices. A pending order waits for its configured condition. Slippage is the difference between a requested or reference price and the resulting execution price.