Stock market terms starting with B

Backtesting Indicators & Oscillators qualitative Applying a set of trading rules to historical data to see how they would have performed. Test: rules are fully specified in advance, applied without hindsight, and results are net of realistic transaction costs and slippage

Backwardation Derivatives, Futures & Options qualitative A condition in which futures prices are below the spot price, and later expiries are priced below nearer ones. Test: Futures Price < Spot Price, with successively distant contracts priced progressively lower

Balance of Payments Economy, Macro & Market Cycles ₹ crore A record of all economic transactions between a country's residents and the rest of the world in a period. Balance of Payments = Current Account + Capital Account + Financial Account + Errors and Omissions = Change in Reserves

Balance Sheet Financial Statements & Accounting ₹ crore A statement of what a company owns and owes at a single point in time, with the two sides always equal. Assets = Liabilities + Shareholders' Equity

Balanced Advantage Fund Funds, ETFs & Index Investing % A hybrid fund that varies its equity allocation dynamically according to a stated model, usually valuation-based. Test: net equity exposure moves within a wide band according to a disclosed model, with derivatives used to adjust it

Bank Nifty Indian Market, Regulation & Taxation index points The NSE's index of the most liquid large Indian banking stocks, used widely as a derivatives underlying. Index Value computed from free-float market capitalisation of its banking constituents, weighted and capped per index rules

Bar Chart Technical Analysis & Chart Patterns qualitative A chart showing each period as a vertical line spanning high to low, with left and right ticks marking the open and close. Test: each period is one vertical line from Low to High, with the open marked left and the close marked right

Base Effect Economy, Macro & Market Cycles % The distortion in a growth rate caused by an unusually high or low value in the comparison period. Test: the current growth rate is driven substantially by the level of the year-earlier figure rather than by current activity

Base Rate Neglect Market Psychology & Behavioural Finance % Ignoring the underlying frequency of an outcome when assessing a specific case. Test: a judgement uses case-specific detail while disregarding how often the outcome occurs in the relevant population

Basis Derivatives, Futures & Options index points The difference between a futures price and the spot price of its underlying. Basis = Futures Price - Spot Price

Basket Order Orders, Execution & Market Structure qualitative A single instruction that submits orders in several securities at once, in preset quantities. Test: one submission generates multiple child orders across different securities, each executing independently

Bear Market Economy, Macro & Market Cycles % A sustained period of falling prices, conventionally marked by a decline of 20% or more from a high. Test: the index has fallen 20% or more from its prior peak

Bear Put Spread Derivatives, Futures & Options ₹ Buying a put at one strike and writing a put at a lower strike with the same expiry, capping both cost and gain. Net Debit = Higher Strike Premium - Lower Strike Premium; Maximum Gain = (Strike Difference - Net Debit) x Lot Size

Bearish Divergence Indicators & Oscillators qualitative A condition in which price makes a higher high while an oscillator makes a lower high. Test: current price high > previous price high, while current indicator high < previous indicator high

Bearish Engulfing Technical Analysis & Chart Patterns qualitative A two-candle formation in which a falling candle's body completely covers the preceding rising candle's body. Test: previous Close > previous Open; current Open >= previous Close and current Close <= previous Open

Behavioural Finance Market Psychology & Behavioural Finance qualitative The study of how psychological factors cause investors and markets to depart from purely rational decision-making. Test: the observed behaviour departs systematically from what expected-utility maximisation would predict, in a documented and repeatable direction

Benchmark Risk & Portfolio Management % The index or standard against which a portfolio's performance is measured. Excess Return = Portfolio Return - Benchmark Return over the same period

Beta Risk & Portfolio Management ratio (x, times) A measure of how much an asset's return moves relative to the market's, on average. Beta = Covariance of Asset and Market Returns / Variance of Market Returns

Bid Price Orders, Execution & Market Structure ₹ The highest price a buyer in the order book is currently willing to pay for a security. Best Bid = highest buy limit price resting in the order book

Bid-Ask Spread Orders, Execution & Market Structure % The difference between the best ask and the best bid, representing the immediate cost of a round trip in a security. Spread % = (Best Ask - Best Bid) / Mid Price x 100, where Mid Price = (Best Ask + Best Bid) / 2

Black Swan Risk & Portfolio Management qualitative An event that is unpredicted, has extreme impact, and is rationalised as predictable only after it occurs. Test: the event lay outside expectations, carried extreme consequences, and attracted retrospective explanation

Black-Scholes Model Derivatives, Futures & Options ₹ A mathematical model that prices European options from the spot price, strike, time to expiry, interest rate and volatility. Inputs: Spot, Strike, Time to Expiry, Risk-Free Rate, Volatility; output: the theoretical option price

Block Deal Orders, Execution & Market Structure ₹ crore A large trade executed in a dedicated exchange window at a negotiated price within a narrow band around the reference price. Test: minimum order value as prescribed by the exchange, executed in the block window at a price within the permitted band of the reference price

Blue-Chip Stock Market Basics & Instruments qualitative An informal label for shares of large, long-established, consistently profitable companies with strong balance sheets. Test: sustained profitability across cycles, low leverage, large market capitalisation, and an uninterrupted record of meeting obligations

Terms starting with B