Trading Glossary: Key Terms & Definitions
Master the language of the markets. Our comprehensive guide covers essential stock market terms, trading jargon, and key concepts for every trader.
Common Trading Terms
Day Trading
The practice of buying and selling financial instruments within the same trading day, such that all positions are closed before the market closes for the trading day.
Swing Trading
A speculative trading strategy in financial markets where a tradable asset is held for one or more days in an effort to profit from price changes or "swings".
Long Position
Buying a security with the expectation that the asset will rise in value.
Short Position
Selling a borrowed security with the expectation that the asset will fall in value, allowing the trader to buy it back at a lower price.
Bull Market
A market condition where financial markets are rising or are expected to rise. "Bullish" refers to an optimistic outlook.
Bear Market
A market condition where securities prices fall 20% or more from recent highs due to widespread pessimism and negative investor sentiment.
Risk & Money Management
PnL (Profit and Loss)
The net value of profit or loss in a trading account or specific trade. It measures the financial performance of a trader over a period.
R-Multiple
A measure of risk/reward where "R" represents the initial risk amount. A 2R gain means the profit was two times the initial risk taken on the trade.
Risk/Reward Ratio
A ratio used to compare the expected returns of an investment with the amount of risk undertaken to capture these returns.
Stop Loss
An order placed with a broker to buy or sell a specific stock once the stock reaches a certain price. It is designed to limit an investor's loss on a position.
Drawdown
Referencing the decline in an investment or trading account from the peak to the trough of a specific period, usually quoted as a percentage.
Market Mechanics
Liquidity
The efficiency or ease with which an asset or security can be converted into ready cash without affecting its market price.
Volatility
A statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. In simpler terms, it represents how much the price swings around the mean.
Slippage
The difference between the expected price of a trade and the price at which the trade is compounded or executed. Slippage often occurs during periods of higher volatility.
Spread
The difference between the bid (sell) and ask (buy) price of a security or asset.
App Specifics
Sync Merge
The process of reconciling your local data with the server. If an entry shares the same Hidden ID, the uploaded version (backup) acts as the "master" and updates the server. Entries with unique IDs are preserved, meaning the server keeps items that are missing from your upload.
Cloud Mode
The state where your user profile is authenticated and connected to the online database. In this mode, your data is securely backed up to the server, allowing you to access it from multiple devices.
Daily Journal Model
TradingStreak enforces a "One Journal Per Day" model. While you can log multiple individual trades (PnL entries) within a single day, they are all aggregated into a single Journal Entry for that date. This ensures your daily notes, emotions, and key takeaways remain organized in one place.
Trading Costs and Taxes
Expenses incurred when executing trades, including broker commissions, platform fees, exchange fees, and slippage. TradingStreak allows you to log costs alongside each trade to calculate your true net profit. The Costs & Taxes page also includes tax configuration for estimating your capital gains tax rate, tax-free allowances, and withholding tax settings.
Deductible Costs
Costs that can be offset against your trading profits for tax purposes (German: "verrechenbar"). Examples include platform fees, market data subscriptions, and professional software. Non-deductible costs cannot be offset and must be paid from after-tax profits. Deductibility depends on your tax jurisdiction and whether you trade as a private individual or professional trader. Always consult a tax professional.
Taxes
TradingStreak includes tax estimation tools under Costs & Taxes. You can configure your capital gains tax rate, set a tax-free allowance (e.g., CGT allowance in UK, Freibetrag in DE), and enable "Tax Withheld at Source" if your broker automatically deducts taxes from your profits. These settings help you estimate your net returns after taxes.