The NGX glossary

All terms, A to Z

7-day change: How far the price has moved in the last 7 days.

All-Share Index (ASI): The NGX's headline index: a single number tracking the combined movement of listed stocks. When people say “the market rose,” they usually mean the ASI rose.

Ask: The lowest price a seller is currently willing to accept. You buy at the ask.

Avg volume: The typical number of shares traded per day.

Bid: The highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay. You sell into the bid.

Bonus issue: Free extra shares given to existing shareholders, e.g. one new share for every four held. Your slice of the company stays the same; the price adjusts down.

Broker: A licensed firm that buys and sells shares on your behalf on the NGX. You cannot trade directly.

Buy order: Your instruction to a broker to purchase shares, usually with a maximum price (a limit order).

Capital gain: Profit from selling a stock for more than you paid. The opposite is a capital loss.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS): The electronic vault that holds Nigerian shares. Your stocks live here, not as paper certificates.

Change: How far the price moved versus the previous close.

CHN (Clearing House Number): Your personal account number inside CSCS. Every investor has one; your broker opens it for you.

Close: The last price traded before the session ended.

Day high: The highest price any shares traded at today.

Day low: The lowest price any shares traded at today.

Dividend: Cash a company pays its shareholders out of profit, quoted per share. A ₦2.50 dividend on 1,000 shares is ₦2,500 before tax.

Dividend yield: Annual dividend per share divided by the share price. A ₦5 dividend on a ₦100 stock is a 5% yield.

Ex-div: Short for ex-dividend: the first day a stock trades without the right to its declared dividend. Buy before it to qualify.

High · tracked: The highest close since we started tracking this stock.

Initial public offering (IPO): A company's first sale of shares to the public, before listing on the exchange.

Limit order: An order to buy or sell only at your stated price or better. It waits until the market meets your price.

Low · tracked: The lowest close since we started tracking this stock.

Market cap: What the whole company is worth on the market: price times all shares.

Market order: An order to buy or sell immediately at the best available price. Fast, but the price can slip on thin stocks.

Open: The first price traded when the session started.

Previous close: The last traded price when the previous session ended.

Price limit: The NGX caps how far a stock can move in one day (currently 10% either way). Hitting the cap ends meaningful trading for the day.

Public offer: A sale of shares to the public by an already-listed company, e.g. to raise fresh capital.

Qualification date: The date you must own a stock by to receive its dividend or take part in its corporate action.

Rights issue: An offer of new shares to existing shareholders first, usually at a discount. You can take it up, sell the right, or let it lapse.

Sector: The industry group the company belongs to.

Settlement (T+1): Trades on the NGX now settle one business day after the deal (T+1). Your shares or cash arrive the next working day.

Share split / consolidation: A split multiplies your shares and divides the price (more shares, cheaper each); a consolidation does the reverse. Your total value does not change.

Shares outstanding: Every share the company has issued.

Stockbroker: See broker.

Value traded: The total naira exchanged, volume times price.

Volume: How many shares changed hands.

See a term used on a stock page? Any label with a dotted underline shows this same definition when you tap it.