Glossary terms beginning with N

National Futures Association (NFA)

The industry-wide self-regulatory organization of the futures industry.

Nearby Delivery (Month)

The futures contract delivery month closest to maturity.

Nearby

The nearest delivery months of a futures or forward market.

Net position

(1) A financial institution has a position in foreign currency when its assets, including future contracts to purchase, and liabilities, including future contracts to sell, in that currency are not equal. An excess of assets over liabilities is called a net "long" position and liabilities in excess of assets result in a net "short" position. A long net position in a currency which is depreciating results in a loss, because with each day, that position (asset) is convertible into fewer units of local currency. A short position in a currency which is appreciating represents a loss, because with each day, satisfaction of that position (liability) costs more units of local currency. (2) The difference between the open long (buy) contracts and the open short (sell) contracts held by any one entity in any one futures contract month or in all months combined.

Nominal Price

Declared price for a futures or forward market used in place of a closing price when no recent trading has taken place in that particular delivery month. Typically it is an average of the bid and asked prices.

NR4

Daily range is narrower than the preceding three days. Volatility has contracted.

NR7

Daily range is narrower that the preceding six days. Volatility has contracted.

NYMEX

New York Mercantile Exchange.

NT

Near-Term (Near-Term S or R)

Noise

Price and volume fluctuations that can confuse interpretation of market direction. Used in the context of general equities. Stock market activity caused by program trades, dividend rolls, and other phenomena not reflective of general sentiment. Antithesis of real.

Narrow-Based Index Futures

Also called industry-sector futures and exchange-traded baskets. Like a stock index future, except targeted to a specific group of stocks, such as the auto, airline or telecom industries.

Naked Option

Options that are sold on securities when the seller does not actually own shares of the underlying securities or options.

Nasdaq

A computerized system that stores and displays up-to-the-second price quotations for securities traded over the counter.

National Best Bid or Offer

A term applying to the SEC requirement that brokers make their best effort to offer customers the best available ask price when they buy securities and the best available bid price when they sell securities.

Net asset value (NAV)

The price of each share of a mutual fund. It is calculated by subtracting the fund's liabilities from its total assets, and dividing that figure by the number of shares outstanding. The NAV is the amount of money that an investor would receive for each share if the mutual fund sold all of its assets, paid off all of its outstanding debts, and distributed the proceeds to shareholders.

Net income

Gross income minus total expenses gives you net income. You'll find this information on the income statement.

Net investment

Gross, or total, investment minus depreciation.

Net profit

The bottom line. This is how much money the company made in profits. It can also refer to net profit margin, which is a percentage telling you how many cents on each dollar is pure profit.

Net profit margin

Net income as a percentage of sales. You get this by dividing net income by sales. Since it's a percentage, it tells you how many cents on each dollar of sales is pure profit.

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

The oldest and largest stock exchange in the United States.

No-load fund

A mutual fund that does not charge a sales commission.

Non-Acat

An account transfer that is done manually because the delivering firm is not a member of the ACAT system, or you are requesting a partial transfer, which requires a manual process. When the transfer is done manually the request is physically forwarded to the delivering firm and upon their receipt they have up to 30 business days to act on it.

Non-callable

A security, such as a note or bond, that cannot be called prior to its maturity.

Non-equity Option

An option that has an underlying security other than stock—e.g., futures, commodities.

Not Held

An order submitted to a brokerage firm with the understanding that it will use its best efforts to execute the order according to the customer’s instructions, but the broker may not be held responsible or liable for any lost profits, trading losses, or damages resulting from the manner in which the order is handled. OEC accepts contingent orders strictly on a “Not Held” basis.