Browse All 840 Stock Market Terms A–Z

Leading Economic Indicator Economy, Macro & Market Cycles qualitative A data series that tends to change before the broader economy does. Test: the series historically turns ahead of GDP at business cycle turning points

Leading Indicator Indicators & Oscillators qualitative An indicator claimed to change before price does, usually built from the rate of change rather than the level of price. Test: the indicator's construction emphasises the most recent periods so that it turns before a smoothed measure would

Lease Liability Financial Statements & Accounting ₹ crore The obligation to make future lease payments, recognised on the balance sheet along with a corresponding right-of-use asset. Lease Liability = Present Value of Remaining Lease Payments, discounted at the incremental borrowing rate

Leverage Risk & Portfolio Management ratio (x, times) The use of borrowed capital to increase the size of a position relative to the money committed. Leverage = Total Position Value / Own Capital Committed

Limit Order Orders, Execution & Market Structure qualitative An instruction to buy at or below, or sell at or above, a stated price, executing only if the market reaches it. Test: the order carries a price condition and rests in the book until matched, cancelled or expired

Line Chart Technical Analysis & Chart Patterns qualitative A chart that joins each period's closing price with a continuous line, discarding the open, high and low. Test: exactly one value per period, conventionally the close, is plotted and connected

Liquid Fund Funds, ETFs & Index Investing qualitative A debt mutual fund investing in money-market instruments maturing within 91 days. Test: every instrument in the portfolio has a residual maturity of 91 days or less

Liquidation Corporate Actions, Dividends & Governance ₹ crore The winding up of a company, in which assets are sold and proceeds distributed to claimants in a legal order of priority. Waterfall: liquidation costs, then secured creditors and workmen's dues, then employees, then unsecured creditors, then government dues, then preference shareholders, then equity

Liquidity Market Basics & Instruments qualitative The ease with which a security can be bought or sold in size without materially moving its price. Test: a normal order size executes near the prevailing quote, with a narrow bid-ask spread and depth on both sides of the book

Liquidity Risk Risk & Portfolio Management qualitative The risk of being unable to exit a position at a reasonable price, or at all, when required. Test: the position size is large relative to normal traded volume, or the security can become untradable under stress

Listed Company Market Basics & Instruments qualitative A company whose shares are admitted to trading on a recognised stock exchange and which is therefore subject to continuous disclosure obligations. Test: the company's securities are admitted to dealings on a recognised exchange and it files under the listing regulations

Listing Gain Indian Market, Regulation & Taxation % The profit from selling IPO-allotted shares on the day they begin trading. Listing Gain % = (Listing Day Price - Issue Price) / Issue Price x 100

LODR Regulations Indian Market, Regulation & Taxation qualitative SEBI's Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations, governing what listed companies must disclose and how they must be governed. Test: the company has securities listed on a recognised exchange, bringing it within the continuous disclosure and governance obligations

Long Call Derivatives, Futures & Options ₹ A position created by buying a call option, with loss limited to the premium and gain rising as the underlying rises. Profit at expiry = max(Spot - Strike, 0) x Lot Size - Premium Paid x Lot Size; Break-even = Strike + Premium

Long Position Market Basics & Instruments ₹ A position created by buying a security, which gains when its price rises and loses when it falls. Profit or Loss = (Exit Price - Entry Price) x Quantity

Long Put Derivatives, Futures & Options ₹ A position created by buying a put option, with loss limited to the premium and gain rising as the underlying falls. Profit at expiry = max(Strike - Spot, 0) x Lot Size - Premium Paid x Lot Size; Break-even = Strike - Premium

Long-Term Capital Gain Indian Market, Regulation & Taxation ₹ A capital gain on an asset held beyond the qualifying period, taxed at a concessional rate. Test: listed equity or equity-oriented fund units held for more than 12 months; the first ₹1.25 lakh of aggregate such gains in a year is exempt

Long-Term Debt Financial Statements & Accounting ₹ crore Borrowings repayable more than twelve months after the balance sheet date, such as term loans and debentures. Debt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Debt / Shareholders' Equity

Lookback Period Indicators & Oscillators days The number of past periods an indicator examines when computing its current value. Test: the indicator's value at time t depends on data from t - n + 1 through t, and on nothing earlier

Loss Aversion Market Psychology & Behavioural Finance ratio (x, times) The tendency to feel the pain of a loss more strongly than the pleasure of an equivalent gain. Test: the compensation demanded to accept a possible loss exceeds the loss's size, typically by a factor near two

Lot Size Derivatives, Futures & Options shares The fixed number of units of the underlying that one derivative contract represents. Contract Value = Lot Size x Price of the Underlying

Lower Circuit Orders, Execution & Market Structure ₹ The state in which a security is trading at the bottom of its permitted price band, with sell orders pending and no buyers. Lower Circuit Price = Previous Close x (1 - Band %)

Lump Sum Investment Funds, ETFs & Index Investing ₹ Investing an entire amount at one time rather than spreading it across instalments. Future Value = Amount x (1 + Annual Return) raised to the number of years

Macaulay Duration Bonds & Fixed Income years The weighted average time until a bond's cash flows are received, with each time weighted by the present value of its cash flow. Macaulay Duration = Sum of (Time x Present Value of Cash Flow) / Bond Price

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