What is the difference between market capitalisation and volume?

Market capitalisation is what the whole company is priced at today: share price times share count. Volume is the money value of shares that changed hands over a period. One measures size, the other measures the attention paid on the day.

If a stock is at its twelve-month high, is it expensive?

No. The range shows where a stock stands against its own past, not whether it is good value. A growing company can sit at its high for months, and a shrinking one at its low for years.

Why does the price fall when a dividend is paid?

The money leaves the company and goes to the shareholder, so the company is worth that much less. Nothing is lost: value moved from the share into cash.

Why can't anyone publish exchange data for free?

Price is born inside the exchange's own matching system and belongs to it. Showing it on a website requires a data dissemination agreement with the exchange — even for data delayed by fifteen minutes.

Glossary of market terms

Short definitions of the words the market uses. One or two sentences each, and where it makes sense, a link to the page on this site where the idea is at work.

The share

Share: A security representing a portion of a company's capital. It gives its holder a claim on profits and a vote at the general meeting.
Market capitalisation: The share price multiplied by the number of shares — what the market prices the whole company at. It is not money in the company's account, only a measure at today's price. On this site →
Volume: The money value of shares that changed hands over a period. It measures attention, not price: the same move carries more weight on heavy volume. On this site →
Initial public offering: A company selling its shares to the public for the first time and starting to trade on an exchange. On this site →
Dividend: A payment out of profit to shareholders. On the ex-date the price falls by the amount paid — that is not a loss of value. On this site →
Share split: One share divided into several. The company is worth the same; only the count rises and the price falls in the same proportion. On this site →

Price

Open and close: The price of the first and last trade of the session. Daily returns are measured close to close.
Day range: The highest and lowest price seen during the day. Where the close sits inside that range says which side had the upper hand.
Twelve-month range: The highest and lowest price of the last 252 trading days. The same two per cent is not the same event for a stock at its low and one at its high. On this site →
Volatility: How much the price swings. It measures amplitude, not direction: a falling stock and a rising one can both be volatile.
Liquidity: How easily a share can be bought or sold without moving its price. Where liquidity is thin, even a small order shifts the quote. On this site →
Spread: The gap between the best bid and the best offer. It is the invisible cost of trading, and it widens as liquidity thins.

The market

Index: A single number standing for the joint movement of a chosen set of shares. The index itself is not traded; funds and contracts that track it are.
Session: The hours in which the exchange matches orders. Outside them no price forms and orders wait. On this site →
Half day: A day the exchange closes early, usually before a public holiday. Volume falls noticeably. On this site →
Exchange: The regulated market where buy and sell orders are matched by rule. Price is born here — which is why the data belongs to the exchange itself. On this site →
Broker: A firm licensed by the regulator that carries an investor's order to the exchange. Trading is possible only through one. On this site →
Settlement: The handover of shares and money after a trade. On the Turkish equity market it completes two business days after the trade.

Borsa İstanbul

Pay Piyasası — the equity market: The market where shares trade on Borsa İstanbul, made up of a main market, a star market and sub-markets.
BAP — the debt securities market: Where government bonds, treasury bills and corporate debt are bought and sold. Repo transactions run here too.
KMTP — the precious metals and diamond market: Where gold, silver, platinum and diamonds trade. Gold imported into Türkiye is reported to the exchange through this market.
VIOP — the derivatives market: Where futures and options on indices, shares, currencies and commodities trade. The contracts are leveraged: the margin is a small part of contract size.
SPK — the Capital Markets Board: The regulator of Türkiye's capital markets. It licenses brokers; a firm absent from its register may not act as one. On this site →
KAP — the public disclosure platform: The official platform where listed Turkish companies publish their filings. Financial statements and material events land here first.

Common questions

What is the difference between market capitalisation and volume?: Market capitalisation is what the whole company is priced at today: share price times share count. Volume is the money value of shares that changed hands over a period. One measures size, the other measures the attention paid on the day.
If a stock is at its twelve-month high, is it expensive?: No. The range shows where a stock stands against its own past, not whether it is good value. A growing company can sit at its high for months, and a shrinking one at its low for years.
Why does the price fall when a dividend is paid?: The money leaves the company and goes to the shareholder, so the company is worth that much less. Nothing is lost: value moved from the share into cash.
Why can't anyone publish exchange data for free?: Price is born inside the exchange's own matching system and belongs to it. Showing it on a website requires a data dissemination agreement with the exchange — even for data delayed by fifteen minutes.