ABC of investing

UTP session schedule

Transactions on the exchange (except block trades) are made between 8.30 a.m. and 5.05 p.m. During this time, trading takes place in two systems: continuous and single-price auction.

Continuous trading includes quotations of derivatives (futures, options, from 8.45am) and cash market instruments (from 9.00am). The single-price auction takes place twice a day: at 11.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. A trading session consists of phases appropriate to the particular trading system.

In the single-price auction system, these are: the pre-opening phase, the fixing phase, the post-opening phase and the pre-opening phase of the next session. In continuous trading, the session phases are: pre-opening phase, opening fixing, continuous trading, pre-closing, closing fixing and overtime.

Trading session phases in the UTP system

  • Hours Listing phase
    8.30 am - 11.00 am Pre-opening phase
    11.00 Opening phase (determination of single price)
    11.00-11.30 Post-auction phase
    11.30 am - 3.00 pm Pre-opening phase
    15.00 Opening phase (determination of single price)
    15.00-15.30 Follow-up phase
    15.30-17.05 Pre-opening phase


    Single-price auction session phases:

    • pre-opening: collection of orders for the opening, publication of the IOP (Theoretical Opening Price), no transactions
    • fixing: determination of single price and execution of orders
    • post-auction: collection and execution of orders at a price equal
      to the single price - the fixing price
    • pre-opening: collection of orders for the next session

     

  • Hours Listing phase
    8.30-9.00 Pre-opening phase
    09.00 Opening phase (determination of price at opening)
    09.00-16.50 Continuous trading phase
    16.50-17.00 Pre-closing phase
    17.00 Closing phase (determination of closing price)
    17.00-17.05 Post-auction phase

  • Hours Listing phase
    8.30-8.45 Pre-opening phase
    8.45 Opening phase (determination of price at opening)
    8.45 am - 4.50 pm Continuous trading phase
    16.50-17.00 Pre-closing phase
    17.00 Closing phase (determination of closing price)
    17.00-17.05 Post-auction phase


    Session phases in the continuous trading system:

    • pre-opening: placement of orders for the opening, publication of theTOP (Theoretical Opening Price), no transactions
    • opening (fixing): determination of opening price, execution of orders entered into the system in the pre-opening phase, no new orders
    • continuous trading: acceptance of orders and their execution in accordance with the market situation
    • pre-closing: submission of orders for closing, no transactions
      closing (fixing): determination of closing price, execution of orders entered into the system in the pre-closing phase
    • post-closing: placement and execution of orders at a price equal to the closing price

Key publications

All material from the official websites of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the Financial Supervision Authority

Capital market entities Podmioty rynku kapitałowego (gpw.pl)

First steps on the capital market Pierwsze kroki_17589.pdf (knf.gov.pl)

Secondary market of securities Market_wtorny_papierow_wartosciowych_2493.pdf (knf.gov.pl)

Primary market of securities Rynek_pierwotny_papierow_wartosciowych_2435.pdf (knf.gov.pl)

Basic investment strategies - Publications - Polish Financial Supervision Authority (knf.gov.pl)

Bonds and shares Bonds and shares_17588.pdf (knf.gov.pl)

Fundamentals of investing in futures and options Fundamentals of investing in futures and options (gpw.pl)

ETFs, or buy an index ETFs, or buy an index (gpw.pl)

Structured exchange-traded products Structured exchange-traded products (flyer) (gpw.pl)

Stock option warrants Stock option warrants (flyer) (gpw.pl)

ABC of investing in funds Brochure ABC of investing_22583.pdf (knf.gov.pl)

UTP - new trading system UTP - new trading system (gpw.pl)

CATALYST bond market (millenniumbm.pl)

Investor’s glossary

  • A security of a shareholding nature. The holder of a share owns part of the capital of a joint-stock company, i.e. he is a co-owner. By virtue of this, he has property and corporate rights. By virtue of property rights, he has a share in the ownership of the company, the right to participate in profits, including the right to dividends, a share in the ownership of the company’s assets in the event of its liquidation. Corporate rights are mainly the right to participate in the company’s general meeting of shareholders and to vote, the right to elect authorities and to be elected, to submit draft resolutions, to challenge resolutions, to request information.

  • A share to which any person in possession of the share document is entitled. In contrast to registered shares, bearer shares are not linked to a specific person and the personal details of the shareholder are not shown on the share document. All shares admitted to trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), the New Connect market and the BondSpot market must be dematerialised bearer shares. Their transferability may not be restricted in any way.

  • In the case of dematerialised shares, the owner of the account in which the ownership rights attached to the shares are recorded. In the case of registered shares in tangible form, the name of the registered share owner is shown on the share document. In the case of bearer shares in tangible form, the person who holds the document.

  • This is one of the basic techniques of capital market analysis. It deals with the estimation of the value of a given company’s shares on the basis of an analysis of its financial statements, financial ratios, its operations, growth prospects, as well as the attractiveness of the industry it represents.

  • A method of assessing the future prospects of a share price. It is based on historical quotations of a security, their trend formation, analysis of technical indicators, trading volumes and price charts.

  • An issuer market maker is a member of the WSE who undertakes, under an agreement with the issuer, to support the liquidity of a particular financial instrument.

  • A market maker is a member of the WSE who, under an agreement with the WSE, undertakes to carry out, for its own account, actions to support the liquidity of a given financial instrument on terms specified by the WSE Board. The WSE determines, among other things, the minimum bid size and the maximum difference between the bid and ask prices submitted by the market maker.

  • A term denoting an increase in the price of a commodity or good, used mainly to refer to an increase in the value of a domestic currency relative to a foreign currency in a floating exchange rate system. Appreciation is accompanied by an increase in the purchasing power of a given currency in international settlements.

  • A combined stock exchange transaction of buying/selling commodities or securities, allowing a profit without risk. The essence of arbitrage is to spot the difference in price of the same product in different markets or in the same market but under different forms. If this difference is greater than the transaction costs, the investor makes a profit by buying the product on the cheaper market and selling on the more expensive one.

  • A summary of buy and sell orders for a security submitted to the exchange, ordered according to value and time of bid. Buy orders from highest price to lowest, sell orders from lowest to highest.

  • The combination of financial instruments, most often new-issue shares previously registered with the NDS (e.g. in the form of so-called share rights) under different codes, with old-issue shares. After assimilation, the financial instruments are listed under one code, i.e. the same rights arise from them.

  • The difference between the forward market price and the spot market price. This can be, for example, the difference between the price of a futures contract and the price of the stock market index underlying that futures contract. A positive basis occurs when the futures market price is higher than the spot market price, and a negative basis occurs when the futures market price is lower than the spot market price. In other words, the contract is quoted at a premium (above) or discount (below) to the underlying.

  • A benchmark, usually an index, which is used to assess the efficiency of investment portfolio management. If an investment exceeds the benchmark, one can speak of beating the market, i.e. better performance of an investment in our portfolio than an investment in, for example, the WIG20 index.

  • A long-term, strong downward trend (downtrend) in equity markets. Otherwise known as a bear market.

  • A measure of the risk of investing in financial instruments. This ratio tells you how much the return of a financial instrument will change when the return of the benchmark index for that instrument increases by 1%. A beta above 1 and -1 indicates instruments with a high risk, between (-1,1) a low risk, a beta of 1 is the beta of the market, it means that the instrument behaves like the market, a beta of -1 indicates the opposite of the market.

  • The term for a large listed company that enjoys investor confidence and a good financial position. Blue chip companies are characterised by large capitalisation and liquidity and a relatively stable share price. In Poland, blue chips are defined as companies included in the WIG20 stock market index.

  • A bearer debt security issued by the State Treasury in order to obtain a short-term loan (with a maturity of 1 to 90 days or 1 week to 52 weeks.) to cover current expenses, offered for sale in the country on the primary market at a discount and redeemed at par upon expiry of the period for which it was issued. It is characterised by low investment risk.

  • A joint-stock company operating a regulated market and an alternative trading system operating within the framework, organised jointly with the WSE, of the Catalyst bond market system, as well as an electronic market for Treasury securities Treasury BondSpot Poland, which has the status of an alternative trading system.

  • The process of building a so-called bookbuild, which supports the determination of the issue price of a security. It is conducted by the company among future potential shareholders, thanks to which the company learns the scale of interest in its shares at different price levels. This allows the company to determine the optimal issue price to ensure the success of the issue.

  • Trading system operated on the trading platforms of the WSE and BondSpot. Catalyst consists of four trading platforms. Two operated by the WSE - in the formula of a regulated market and an Alternative Trading System - and the analogous two BondSpot markets. The objects of transactions on the market can be dematerialised bonds (also municipal and corporate bonds), mortgage bonds and other debt financial instruments.

  • The official publication of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which contains, among other things, information on prices and trading of securities listed on the WSE, activities of the WSE, brokerage houses and issuers of securities.

  • The price of a company shares applicable to a public offering on the primary market.

  • This is a security issued by closed-end investment funds. Bearer investment certificates may be admitted to public trading and listed on the stock exchange. In the case of certificates of specialised closed-end funds that are not admitted to public trading, it is possible to issue such securities as registered documents. A fund may redeem the investment certificates it has issued if its statutes so provide. Upon redemption by the fund, the investment certificates are redeemed by operation of law.

  • A brokerage entity that is a shareholder of the exchange and is admitted to operate on the exchange and, in particular, to enter into exchange transactions.

  • The settlement date of a transaction at the NDS is the time it takes for the funds from the transaction in exchange for ownership of the securities to be transferred from the buyer’ account to the seller account. For transactions concluded on a regulated exchange market and in an alternative trading system (ATS), secured by a settlement guarantee system (except for transactions in derivatives), it is T (day of the transaction) + 2 business days; for transactions in derivatives it is T + 0. For block trades, BISO trades, OTC trades - as agreed by the settlement parties (T+n).

  • The day on which the order is placed.

  • Refers to the shareowner’ entitlement to receive dividends or to exercise pre-emptive rights. This is the fixed date on which you must own the shares to acquire the rights in question. The shares must be acquired at the latest 2 business days before the record date. This is due to the timing of the share settlement: trading day + 2 working days.

  • The last day on which an order is valid on the stock exchange.

  • A way of investing that involves opening and closing positions (buying and selling) during a single trading session. The closing transaction usually has a lower commission.

  • The process of changing the form of a security from a tangible (paper) to an intangible form (electronic recording in the NDS). Only dematerialised securities may be traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. If a company delists from the stock exchange, the reverse process usually takes place and the shares revert to documentary form.

  • The sum of cash deposited as collateral for open positions in derivatives (known as margin in the NDS) and active orders for derivatives (known as initial margin).

  • Instruments that derive from other instruments.

  • A phase of exchange trading during a session in the continuous and single-price auction system. During post-auction trading, only limit orders at a price equal to the fixing price may be placed. Orders placed earlier remain valid during post-auction trading. If no fixing price is established at the fixing, no post-auction trading is announced (no orders may be entered).

  • The decision to admit financial instruments to trading on the WSE is taken by the Exchange Management Board, unless the financial instruments are admitted under the rules of the WSE. Before the decision is taken, the Exchange Management Board performs a detailed analysis and assessment of the issuer’ financial situation, its forecasts, development prospects, the possibility of implementing investment plans and the conditions under which the shares were issued, so that the interests and safety of all participants in stock exchange trading are preserved.

  • A person who, by a decision of the FSA, has been entered on the list of investment advisers and carries out the profession of investment adviser. The tasks of advisers include the provision of recommendations to investors on financial instruments, as well as the management of investment portfolios of institutional investors (e.g. investment funds) and individual investors.

  • Diversification of an investment portfolio involves selecting financial instruments in such a way as to minimise the risk of the investment. Diversification can be applied, for example, by the type of industry in which a company operates or the level of risk of investment in a particular stock.

  • The portion of a company net profit to be distributed per share, determined by a resolution of the company general meeting of shareholders. A shareholder will receive a dividend if he or she owns the shares on the date the right to dividend is established. This means that he or she must acquire the shares at the latest on the second trading day before the dividend record date. For example, if the determination of the right to dividend takes place on Thursday, the securities purchase transaction must be concluded at the latest two trading days earlier, i.e. on Tuesday, assuming that there were no holidays in the meantime and that the day of determination of the right to dividend is a trading day.

  • The process of issuing and placing new shares on the market carried out by a company.

  • An entity issuing securities in its own name.

  • The phase of the trading session during which the single price is determined and orders are executed.

  • The number of shares held by small shareholders, i.e. those who hold up to 5% of the number of total shares issued by the company. Usually, the lower the free float, the lower the turnover of a given security.

  • A mutual investment institution. Its purpose is to invest the money paid in by fund participants in the most advantageous way possible. Investment funds can be divided into open-ended ( i.e. funds with a variable number of fund titles, i.e. units) and closed-ended (i.e. funds with a fixed number of fund titles, i.e. investment certificates). The reason for using funds is the lack of knowledge, time or experience in making investment decisions, as well as the lack of access of small investors to certain instruments and investment methods. Investment fund companies offer several types of funds each, diversified in terms of risk and exposure to particular segments of the capital market (debt instrument funds, balanced funds, equity funds). Each fund participant must therefore answer the question of what level of risk and investment horizon he or she is willing to accept, and then choose a conservative, balanced or aggressive fund.

  • The Warsaw Stock Exchange is the most important capital market institution in Poland. The WSE ensures concentration of supply and demand for financial instruments traded on a given market in order to shape their price, as well as safe and efficient trading and dissemination of information related to trading in financial instruments.

  • A strategy of securing one’ assets by taking an opposite position, e.g. in futures contracts.

  • A hedge fund is a type of collective investment institution that uses short selling and leverage, among other things, to hedge against price fluctuations in the stock market. The most important features of a hedge fund are the very high investment risk and the possibility of achieving high returns during both bull and bear markets. The investment strategy of hedge funds is generally aggressive and speculative.

  • A long-term upward trend in the equity market, also known as a bull market.

  • Measures of price movements in securities, covering all securities of a given type or a group of them selected according to a specific criterion.

  • A financial instrument to which a derivative is linked. A change in the value of the underlying instrument entails a change in the value of the associated derivative. Underlying instruments include: shares, currencies, indices, commodities, interest rates, etc.

  • A financial instrument whose existence is dependent on the underlying instrument, but which can be traded independently. The price of a derivative is closely linked to the price of the underlying. Derivatives include: futures contracts, warrants, options.

  • The introduction of shares of a company to trading for the first time.

  • A security whose value depends on the value of the index underlying the index unit. An index unit is understood to be the right of the purchaser of the unit against the issuer to demand payment of the amount due under the terms of the index unit standard. The buyer of an index unit pays the price of the index unit (premium) to the issuer. The issuer, when opening short positions, pays margins.

  • A portion of the assets of an open-ended investment fund. An investment in an open-ended investment fund is equivalent to the purchase of units. The fund shares are valued on an ongoing basis by the fund, so that the investor is able to determine his or her holding. Participation units are not a security. They are heritable but non-transferable. This means that they cannot be surrendered/sold/given to another person.

  • This is part of the assets of an open-ended investment fund. An investment in an open-ended investment fund is equivalent to the purchase of units. The fund’ units are valued on an ongoing basis by the fund, so that the investor is able to determine his or her holding. Participation units are not a security. They are heritable but non-transferable. This means that they cannot be surrendered/sold/given to another person.

  • The National Depository for Securities (Polish: Krajowy Depozyt Papierów Wartościowych) is the entity responsible for the settlement of transactions concluded on the regulated market and in the alternative trading system (ATS), as well as for operating the central securities depository. The company shareholders are in equal shares: State Treasury, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (Giełda Papierów Wartościowych w Warszawie S.A.) and the National Bank of Poland. KDPW also performs a number of services for issuers, such as mediating the payment of dividends to shareholders, assimilation, conversion, conversion and division of shares, and the exercise of pre-emptive rights.

  • A clearing house clearing transactions using a number of mechanisms to systemically reduce the risk of default by the parties to the transactions concluded. KDPW_CCP is a CCP (central counterparty) institution clearing transactions in cash instruments and derivatives in organised and over-the-counter (OTC) trade. For each transaction accepted for clearing, KDPW_CCP becomes a party to the transaction - the original legal relationship between the seller and the buyer is irreversibly interrupted as soon as the transaction is accepted for clearing, and KDPW_CCP becomes the buyer for the selling participant and the seller for the participant buying the financial instrument indicated in the transaction submitted for clearing.

  • The class of contract comprises all series of futures contracts corresponding to the same standard.

  • Financial Supervisory Comission (Polish: Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego) is a government administrative body that supervises the banking sector, capital market, insurance and pension system. .

  • An agreement between two parties, one of whom undertakes to buy and the other to sell, at a well-defined future date (expiry date) and at a price strictly specified at the time of the transaction, a specified quantity of a standardised underlying or to make an equivalent cash settlement.

  • This is the price determined for financial instruments quoted in the single-price system. The single price is determined on the basis of broker orders containing a limit price and those without. Once the single price is announced, it becomes the price at which exchange transactions are concluded.

  • This is the price against which the permissible price variations of a session are calculated. For securities listed in the single-price auction system, it is the price of the previous session. For securities listed in the continuous trading system, the reference price for the opening price in this system is the closing price or, if there is no closing price, the price of the last transaction in the previous session.

  • This is the price determined in the continuous trading system quotation phase at which exchange transactions are concluded at the opening. The opening price is determined by applying in turn: the principle of maximising the volume of trading, minimising the difference between the number of securities in sell and buy orders executable at a given price and minimising the difference between the price determined and the reference price. It is also important that all buy orders with a higher price and all sell orders with a lower price are executed at the given opening price.

  • Equity securities entitling their holders to a certain number of shares in the company under which the instruments were issued. Depositary receipts. commonly referred to as ADRs (American Depositary Receipts) or GDRs (Global Depositary Receipts), are an instrument for companies seeking to raise capital outside their home market.

  • Orders with an Activation Limit condition do not appear immediately after they are entered into the system, but are only revealed when the theoretical opening price or the price of the last transaction in continuous trading reaches a level specified by the trader. They must therefore contain, in addition to the limit at which it becomes active, an execution limit or an instruction to execute it PKC. Transmitted in all phases of the session in the continuous trading system and in the single-price auction system, with the exception of the intervention and post-auction phases. A buy order must contain a trigger limit higher than the last trade and a price equal to or higher than the trigger limit or a PKC condition. Conversely, a sell order with a trigger limit must have a trigger limit lower than the last trade and an execution price equal to or lower than the trigger limit or contain a PKC condition.

  • In a limit order, the trader specifies precisely the price at which he wants to buy or sell a financial instrument. In the case of a buy order, it is the price above which the orderer does not agree to execute the order, while for sell orders it is the price below which the investor is not willing to dispose of the security.

  • A mortgage bond is a registered or bearer security whose issue is based on the mortgage bank’ claims secured by mortgages. In a mortgage bond, the mortgage bank undertakes towards the holder to fulfil certain monetary benefits. A public mortgage bond is a registered or bearer security, the issue of which is based on: loans secured up to the full amount and with due interest by a guarantee or surety of the State Treasury, the NBP, the European Communities or their Member States, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank or the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), or the mortgage bank’ claims under loans granted to the entities listed above.

  • A person entered in the list of securities brokers maintained by the FSA who:

    • has passed an examination on knowledge of the regulations and procedures applicable on the WSE concerning the rules of submitting brokerage orders to the exchange and receiving information for the purpose of handling quotations,
    • is employed by an exchange member or is a member of its governing bodies,
    • has been appointed and notified by an exchange member as a person supervising the process of submitting brokers orders to the exchange,
    • has been registered in the register of supervising brokers run by the WSE.

  • A person who is licensed and registered by the Financial Supervision Authority in the list of stockbrokers. The tasks of a stockbroker include, among others, concluding transactions on the stock exchange on behalf of the brokerage house in which he/she is employed (for the account of the brokerage house or the client), providing information to investors on the situation on the market, providing recommendations.

  • See: Emiter’s animator, Market animator.

  • A document prepared by an issuer and subject to approval by the FSA concerning securities to be offered to the public or admitted to trading. The memorandum contains information about the issuer and the securities issued by the issuer. The legal requirements for an information memorandum may be less than for a prospectus.

  • A monetary unit by which the value of one index point / one share is multiplied; used to determine the value of a contract. E.g. for a WIG20 index futures contract with a multiplier of 20, one index point is multiplied by PLN 20.

  • Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 (together with the Commission Regulation of the European Communities No 1287/2006 of 10 August 2006 containing implementing measures for the Directive), which was introduced to increase the degree of harmonisation of financial services in order to guarantee investors a higher level of protection for their investments. It was also intended to increase the transparency of investment firms and provide a common regulatory framework for investment services and financial markets in the countries of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. MiFID was repealed in 2014 by Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments - the so-called MiFID II Directive.

  • The MiFID II regulation is a piece of legislation - Directive2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/565 of 25 April 2016 supplementing Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to organisational requirements and operating conditions for investment firms - effective in Poland from 3 January 2018. The aim of the MiFID II regulations is to provide enhanced investor protection, promote competition in the financial services sector and ensure transparency in the operation of investment firms in the EU capital market. Under MiFID II, entities offering investment services are required to:

    • act in the best interests of the client,
    • offer financial instruments and products and investment services that are appropriate to the clients knowledge and investment experience and for which the client is the target group,
    • deliver clients with unambiguous and not misleading information about the services, products and financial instruments on offer and the risks associated with them.

  • Funds obtained as a result of the execution of exchange-traded sales of financial instruments that have not yet been settled in the NDS and can only be used to cover purchase orders placed or to cover other liabilities for the period required for the settlement of a given transaction (T+2 business days).

  • An organised market operated by the Stock Exchange outside the regulated market in the form of an alternative trading system. It is a dedicated market for the trading of securities of new, emerging companies operating in the area of new technologies.

  • A natural person with permanent residence abroad, a legal person with its seat abroad, as well as an organisational unit without legal personality established under the laws of a foreign country.

  • A quotation system that allows prices to change over the course of a trading session, depending on the development of demand and supply for a given stock. To describe a continuous trading session, at least four prices must be quoted: opening, closing, maximum and minimum.

  • A trading system characterised by the fixing of a single price for each listed security. The main criterion in determining this price, is to maximise the volume of trading. In simple terms, it can be assumed that the price of the day is the announced price for which the volume of securities traded is the highest.

  • A security issued in a series in which the issuer states that it is a debtor to the owner of the bond (the bondholder) and undertakes to the bondholder to perform a specific service (paying the bondholder a specified amount of money - usually at specified intervals - and to pay the full amount of the loan at maturity).

  • Treasury bonds are debt securities issued by the Treasury, represented by the Minister of Finance. The issuer (the Treasury) borrows a certain amount of money from the purchaser of the bond and undertakes to return it (redeem the bond) at a specified date and pay the interest due. In the case of zero-coupon bonds, the bonds are offered at a discount - at a price lower than the nominal price. Amounts received from the sale of bonds are used to finance state budget expenditure.

  • This is understood as the conduct of a public offering by an issuer or a service underwriter of securities of a new issue, and the sale or purchase of securities on the basis of such an offering.

  • The making of a public offer by an entity other than the issuer or the underwriter, or the offering in any form and by any means, by an entity other than the issuer, to purchase financial instruments that are not securities, or to purchase them from that other entity.

  • A communication to the public in any form and by any means, presenting sufficient information about the terms of the offer and the securities being offered to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe to those securities.

  • A legal entity or individual who offers securities to the public.

  • It is a financial instrument stating the acquisition of the right to buy or sell at a predetermined price at a specific point in the future another security (the underlying instrument) or to make a cash settlement based on the value of the underlying instrument. Rights under options are asymmetrical. The basic types of options are the call option - which gives the buyer the right to buy the underlying instrument at a predetermined price - and the put option - which gives the buyer the right to sell the underlying instrument at a predetermined price. The buyer of the option pays a premium and his potential loss is limited to this amount. The option writer, on the other hand, receives a premium but his losses may be unlimited.

  • This is understood to mean a public offering made for the first time of certain securities.

  • The purchase of a futures contract.

  • The sale of a futures contract.

  • The opposite of a short position is a long position relating to contracts of the same series. The opposite position to a long position is a short position relating to contracts of the same series. It is used to close out open positions.

  • A correlated position to a short position is a long position relating to contracts of a different series within the same class. A correlated position to a long position is a short position concerning contracts of another series within the same class (FW20M2020 +1 and FW20H2020 -1).

  • Rights whereby the holder is entitled to certain benefits of a property nature.

  • Instruments whose price depends directly or indirectly on the price of securities or other financial instruments.

  • A financial instrument that allows the sale of newly issued shares prior to their actual listing on a stock exchange. Rights to shares should not be treated by investors in the same way as shares. The valuation of this instrument should take into account the risk associated with a possible refusal by the court to register a share capital increase. A lower valuation of the allotment certificates as an equivalent of shares may affect the lower price of the shares themselves, into which the allotment certificates will be transformed once the court of registration has issued a relevant order.

  • A shareholder right to subscribe for shares of a new issue which may be traded on the stock exchange. It enables existing shareholders to retain their pro rata share in the share capital of the company concerned in the event of a new share issue and capital increase. In order to exercise the subscription right, the shareholder must subscribe for the newly issued shares at the brokerage house where the rights are subscribed for within the prescribed period. Shareholders who are not interested in the newly issued shares of that company can sell their subscription rights on the stock exchange during the subscription period, when the subscription rights are also listed on the stock exchange. Subscription rights have a theoretical value, which is separated from the value of the shares three days before the record date.

  • An investor’ account with a brokerage firm in which financial instruments held and funds are recorded.

  • A market where financial instruments, property rights and derivatives are traded.

  • The market in which securities are sold directly by the issuer or a service underwriter for securities of a new issue, and securities are sold or purchased on the basis of such an offer. The price is set by the issuer and the intermediary is usually a brokerage house.

  • A market in which securities are traded in such a way that the selling party is not the issuer of the security.

  • A group of companies engaged in similar business activities, e.g. chemical sector, banking sector.

  • Contracts for the same underlying and the same expiry date, corresponding to a standard specified by the market maker.

  • The exchange of all shares of a company for a proportionately larger number of shares.

  • The difference between the highest limit bid and the lowest limit offer for a financial instrument at a given time.

  • The ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the return to the amount of capital invested.

  • A document evidencing entitlement to exercise rights arising from the holding of securities. It may be issued after the original issue as evidence of the acquisition of securities. In the case of dematerialised securities (recorded electronically in accounts at brokerage houses), such a certificate is required for participation in the General Meeting of Shareholders and must be deposited at the company’s registered office at least 7 days before the General Meeting of Shareholders.

  • In the case of an option, this is the date after which the option expires and cannot be exercised, while in the case of a futures contract it is the maturity date of the contract, i.e. the date on which the contract is settled against the underlying instrument.

  • The date on which the issuer undertakes to redeem the bond, usually at par plus interest.

  • Theoretical Opening Price. A price determined on an ongoing basis for a given financial instrument by the WSE in the pre-opening phase (without trading) on the basis of orders that are currently in the ticket.

  • A cryptographic device that looks like a small calculator. It is used to generate one-time codes necessary to identify the Investor when logging into the transaction systems of banks and brokerage houses. The token can also be used to sign electronically submitted instructions.

  • The body of an investment fund that manages the fund and represents the fund in its relations with third parties.

  • An agreement to buy or sell admitted financial instruments concluded on an exchange.

  • A stock exchange transaction concluded outside the continuous or single-price auction system. The conditions of a block trade (minimum value, permissible price deviation) are set out in the exchange regulations.

  • A term associated with technical analysis. In the case of an uptrend, it is a sequence of consecutive peaks in the price of a financial instrument, each of which is higher than the previous one; in the case of a downtrend, it is a sequence of consecutive bottoms in the price of a financial instrument, each of which is lower than the previous one.

  • An agreement for the provision of brokerage services (including the execution of orders and maintenance of a securities and cash account) concluded between the Client and the brokerage house/brokerage office at the Customer Service Point of the brokerage house/brokerage office, by correspondence or via the Internet, on the basis of which the brokerage house/brokerage office provides services related to trading in financial instruments on, inter alia, the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

  • The highest of the public limited company’s bodies for the exercise of the shareholders’ power to direct the company’s business. The AGM decides on the following matters:

    • considers and approves the management reports on the companys activities and the financial statements for the previous financial year
    • discharges members of the company’s bodies for the performance of their duties
    • adopts resolutions on new issues of shares or bonds, decides on the distribution of profit, i.e., inter alia, on the payment of dividends to shareholders.

  • A derivative instrument entitling its owner to buy or sell a specified number of securities at a fixed price and on a specified date. The main difference between a warrant and an option is that the size of the warrant issue is fixed and the issuer is only one entity (e.g. a brokerage house). In the case of options, the issuer can be any investor. Warrants can be issued on shares, stock indices or foreign exchange rates. We distinguish between call (call) warrants and put warrants.

  • The first value of a stock market index. For the indices WIG20, WIG it is 1000.

  • The sum of the funds in the underlying account and the unused receivables in the trader’s account that can be used to cover a buy order placed on the exchange.

  • The product of the price at which the transaction was concluded and the number of financial instruments.

  • A stock market order with default validity, valid indefinitely. In practice, orders with default validity wait in the sheet until the last trading session of the year.

  • Warsaw Interbank Bid Rate - the annual interest rate that banks will pay for funds accepted on deposit from other banks, determined on the basis of banks bids.

  • Warsaw Interbank Offered Rate - interest rate at which banks will lend to other banks, determined on the basis of the banks bids.

  • A colloquial name for the lower and upper limits of volatility in a financial instrument.

  • A termination of rights and obligations arising from the purchase or sale of a futures contract due to the sale or purchase of a futures contract of the same series, respectively.

  • The cessation of rights and obligations from the purchase or issuance of an index unit. The closing of a position shall occur as a result of the issuance of an index unit if it has been previously purchased, or the purchase of an index unit if it has been previously issued. The index unit closing the position must be an index unit for the same underlying instrument, as defined by the same standard.

  • The cessation of the price of a financial instrument for a specified period. The suspension of quotations may be made at the request of the issuer or at the request of the FSA due to the interest or safety of trading participants.

  • MPO - a market-price order submitted during continuous trading, excluding periods of market rebalancing. Orders executed at the price of a previously submitted and unexecuted best opposite order. The unexecuted portion of a MPO order becomes a limit order equal to the price at which the last trade was executed. If there is not at least one pending counter order on the opposite side of the market - the MPO order will not be accepted by the system. PBP - price-by-price order. PBP orders are transmitted in all phases in the continuous trading system and in the single-price auction system, except for the intervention phase and the post-auction phase. In the single-price auction system, they are executed at the single price, while in the continuous trading system: at the opening - at the opening price, at the closing - at the closing price, in the continuous trading phase - at the price of the best waiting opposite order (this price may change until the PBP order is fully executed) , in the case of balancing - at the price determined as a result of market balancing. If, when an order is placed at any price in the continuous trading phase, there are no limit orders in the order book ensuring full execution of the order at any price, the market rebalancing process shall be initiated with simultaneous acceptance of the order which caused the suspension.

  • Minimum size condition (MSC) order - an order with a minimum size condition, i.e. a number of securities below which the investor does not agree to execute the order. Transmitted only in the post-auction trading phase and in the continuous trading phase excluding market balancing periods. An order may be executed in multiple trades. If the order layout in the order book does not allow the immediate execution of an order with a MSC condition at least in the size specified in the condition, the order is no longer valid. The unexecuted portion of an MSC-conditioned order shall remain in the order book as a brokerage order without the minimum execution size condition.

    Order with disclosed size condition (DSC) - the disclosed size condition determines what portion of the volume of the order is disclosed in the order book. Subsequent parts of the order are disclosed after the previously disclosed part of the order has been executed. If the last part of the order is less than the disclosed volume, this remaining part of the order is disclosed. The order shall be transmitted in all phases in the continuous trading system and in the single-price auction system. The disclosed size of the order may not be less than 10 trading units.

  • Valid for the current day (D) - an order marked D is valid no longer than until the end of the trading session on the day it was submitted to the exchange. Valid until a specified date (WDD) - an order marked WDD is valid no longer than until the end of the day designated as the order validity date, but no longer than 365 days from the date it was submitted to the exchange.

    Valid for an indefinite period (WDA) - an order marked WDA is valid for no longer than 365 days from the date of submission to the exchange (in practice, until the end of the calendar year).

    Valid until a specified time (WDC) - an order marked WDC is valid no longer than the time specified in the order on the day it is submitted to the exchange, but no longer than the end of the trading session on the day it is submitted to the exchange. The validity time of the order shall be stated to the nearest second.

    Valid for fixing (WNF) - an order with the WNF designation shall be valid until the end of the nearest opening phase, closing phase or balancing period, respectively, on the day the order is submitted to the exchange. An order with this designation may be submitted to the exchange in any phase of the session in which orders of a given type may be submitted, but it is added to the order book at the start of the nearest pre-opening phase, pre-closing phase or balancing period, respectively.

    Valid to close (WNZ) - an order with the WNZ designation is valid until the end of the closing phase on the day it is submitted to the exchange. An order with this designation may be submitted to the exchange during any phase of the session in which orders of a particular type may be submitted, but is added to the order book at the start of the nearest pre-closing phase.

    Execute and Cancel (WIA) - (order valid until first execution). The order is valid until the first trade (or first trades if the order is executed simultaneously in several trades). The order is executed immediately upon entry and may be partially executed. If it is partially executed, the unexecuted part is no longer valid. A WIA-marked order may only be submitted to the exchange in the continuous trading phase and in the catch-up phase.

    Execute or Cancel (WLA) - the order is valid until the first transaction (or first transactions if the order is executed simultaneously in several transactions) is concluded. The order is executed immediately after entry, but only in its entirety - it cannot be partially executed. If the order layout in the sheet on the opposite side does not allow execution in full, it is no longer valid. An order marked WLA may be submitted to the exchange only in the continuous trading phase and in the post-auction trading phase.

  • A limit order (an order containing a limit price) is executed only when the price determined from the order book is in line with the limit price or more attractive. This means that in the case of buy orders, execution will take place at a price equal to or lower than the specified limit, while in the case of sell orders, execution will take place at a price equal to or higher than the established market price (unless additional execution conditions are specified in the order). Limit orders may include additional execution conditions.

  • A STOP order shall contain either a limit for activation of the order and a limit price at which the order may be subject to execution (STOP Limit order) or an execution order without a specified limit price (STOP Loss order). A STOP order is subject to activation (disclosure in the order book) if the price of the last transaction is higher than or equal to (for buy orders) or lower than or equal to (for sell orders) the activation limit. A STOP order meeting the activation conditions shall be disclosed in the order book immediately after the execution of orders without the activation limit. STOP orders may be submitted to the exchange in all phases in the continuous trading system and in the single-price auction system, except for the post-auction trading phase.

  • A PEG order is a limit order dynamically linked to a reference price. The reference price for a PEG order is the limit of the best order on the same side of the order book as the PEG order. The PEG order price changes as the reference price changes, i.e. the PEG order follows the reference order in its price.