The market data is price and trade related data for a financial instrument. In trade venue such as the stock exchange this data is reported. Through the market data, traders and investors are able to know the latest prices. The latest market trends and the historical trends for the instruments is among the thing they are able to see. The instruments refers to the equities, fixed income products and currencies. Market data can also be explained in other ways. It refers to the electronic streaming of prices, volumes as well as the related information used.
The trading venues are sources of the majority of market data. Reference data on the other hand comes from the issuers and is mainly collected by the market data vendors. The market data information provides traders and the investors with a foundation for performing various transactions. It is through this means that the management of the financial assets becomes possible. That information which is gathered and distributed through the various indexes is included in the market data.
Various assets are used in reporting market data. Trading companies report the market data on other financial instruments. The worth of various assets can be determined by trades through this data. They can also lay good strategies on how to make a profit. Real-time market data’s delivery is very important. The traders can make decisions that are informed and timely. The availed historical information is key in the future trades planning.
Market data for a particular instrument includes different things. The identifier of the instrument is what is included and where it was traded. Included in the identifier are the ticker symbol and the exchange codes. The information included in the data are the volume traded, bid and offer sizes and the static data. There are people who specialize in the collection cleaning, collating and distributing market data. They are known as financial data vendors. This is the most common way on how the traders can access the market data.
There are two main categories of market data. The first level provides the investors with basic trading information. The lowest ask and highest bid prices is included in the information. The best bid offer data is provided in the information which is required. The other category provides information on the most attractive security in the market. Keeping track of moving securities information to the investors is provided. Information on trading systems and the volume based trading platforms is also provided.
Real time market data information is used. Here it makes on-the spot decisions about the buying or selling. The information is also used historical so as to project pricing trends. The information can also be used in the calculation of market risk on portfolios of investments in the historical manner. Holding of the investments may however be done by the individuals as well as the institutional investments.