Stock market terms starting with F

Face Value Market Basics & Instruments ₹ The nominal value assigned to a share by the company at issue, used for accounting and for expressing dividends, and unrelated to what the share trades for. Paid-up Share Capital = Face Value x Number of Shares Issued

Falling Wedge Technical Analysis & Chart Patterns qualitative A formation in which both boundaries slope downward but converge, with the upper boundary falling more steeply than the lower. Test: lower highs and lower lows, with the line through the highs falling faster than the line through the lows

False Breakout Technical Analysis & Chart Patterns qualitative A move beyond a defined level that reverses back into the prior range shortly afterwards. Test: price breaches the level and then closes back inside the range within a stated number of periods

Familiarity Bias Market Psychology & Behavioural Finance qualitative Preferring investments one recognises, treating familiarity as a proxy for safety. Test: the allocation favours known names or sectors without a corresponding analytical basis

Fear Market Psychology & Behavioural Finance qualitative The emotional response to potential loss that leads investors to reduce exposure or avoid it entirely. Test: exposure is reduced or avoided on the basis of recent price movement rather than on a changed assessment of the asset

Fear of Missing Out Market Psychology & Behavioural Finance qualitative The anxiety of being left out of a rise that others are participating in, leading to purchases made without analysis. Test: the decision to buy is triggered by others' gains rather than by any assessment of the asset's value

Fibonacci Extension Technical Analysis & Chart Patterns % Levels projected beyond a prior move at set multiples of its size, used to mark possible areas where an advance may pause. Extension Level = Retracement Low + (High - Low) x Ratio, where common ratios are 127.2%, 161.8%, 200% and 261.8%

Fibonacci Retracement Technical Analysis & Chart Patterns % Horizontal levels drawn at set percentages of a prior price move, used to mark potential areas where a pullback may pause. Retracement Level = High - (High - Low) x Ratio, where common ratios are 23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 61.8% and 78.6%

Final Dividend Corporate Actions, Dividends & Governance ₹ A dividend recommended by the board after the year's accounts are prepared and approved by shareholders at the annual general meeting. Test: the dividend is recommended with the annual results and requires an ordinary resolution at the annual general meeting

Financial Leverage Fundamental Analysis & Valuation ratio (x, times) The use of borrowed money to increase the return on shareholders' capital, and the risk that comes with it. Equity Multiplier = Total Assets / Shareholders' Equity; Degree of Financial Leverage = Percentage Change in Net Profit / Percentage Change in Operating Profit

Financing Cash Flow Financial Statements & Accounting ₹ crore The net cash raised from or returned to providers of capital through borrowing, share issues, dividends and buybacks. Financing Cash Flow = Borrowings Raised + Share Issues - Borrowings Repaid - Dividends Paid - Buybacks - Interest Paid

First In, First Out Indian Market, Regulation & Taxation qualitative The convention that the earliest-acquired units of a security are treated as sold first. Test: on a partial sale, the cost and holding period of the oldest lot are used first, then the next oldest

Fiscal Deficit Economy, Macro & Market Cycles % The gap between the government's total expenditure and its total revenue excluding borrowings, in a year. Fiscal Deficit = Total Expenditure - (Revenue Receipts + Non-Debt Capital Receipts)

Fiscal Policy Economy, Macro & Market Cycles % The government's use of taxation and spending to influence economic activity. Fiscal Impulse = Change in the Fiscal Deficit as a percentage of GDP, adjusted for the cycle

Flag Pattern Technical Analysis & Chart Patterns qualitative A short, shallow consolidation in a small parallel channel that slopes against the direction of a sharp preceding move. Test: a steep prior move, followed by a brief parallel-sided consolidation retracing only a small portion of it

Flexi-Cap Fund Funds, ETFs & Index Investing qualitative An equity fund free to invest across large, mid and small-cap companies in any proportion. Test: minimum 65% in equity with no mandated split across market capitalisation segments

Floating-Rate Bond Bonds & Fixed Income % A bond whose coupon resets periodically against a reference rate rather than staying fixed. Coupon = Reference Rate at Reset + Fixed Spread

Follow-on Public Offer Market Basics & Instruments qualitative A public issue of shares by a company that is already listed, made after its initial public offering. Test: the issuer is already listed and is offering further shares to the public at large

Foreign Exchange Reserves Economy, Macro & Market Cycles ₹ crore Foreign currency assets, gold and reserve positions held by a central bank to meet external obligations and manage the currency. Import Cover = Foreign Exchange Reserves / Average Monthly Imports, expressed in months

Foreign Institutional Flows Economy, Macro & Market Cycles ₹ crore Net purchases or sales of Indian securities by foreign portfolio investors. Net Flow = Value of Purchases - Value of Sales by foreign portfolio investors over the period

Foreign Portfolio Investor Indian Market, Regulation & Taxation qualitative A non-resident investor registered with SEBI to invest in Indian securities markets. Test: the entity holds a SEBI FPI registration in the applicable category and invests within prescribed limits

Forward Contract Derivatives, Futures & Options qualitative A privately negotiated agreement to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date, not traded on an exchange. Test: terms are bilaterally negotiated, the contract is not exchange-traded, and settlement occurs directly between the parties

Forward Price-to-Earnings Fundamental Analysis & Valuation ratio (x, times) The price-to-earnings ratio computed using forecast earnings for a future period rather than reported ones. Forward P/E = Current Market Price / Estimated Earnings per Share for the Forecast Period

Framing Effect Market Psychology & Behavioural Finance qualitative The tendency for a decision to change depending on how the identical information is presented. Test: preferences reverse when the same outcome is described as a gain rather than as a loss, or in different units

Terms starting with F