Understanding business news

Sharon Philip

Business terminology is often confusing. The metaphorical usage of words and the sheer amount of jargon that is used, makes it difficult to understand for the average reader. If you’ve never studied economics, you may well relate to this struggle. 

Money is important though. So what can you do to make understanding such articles easier? Understanding a few common terms related to the market and ability to decipher the meaning of words used in a metaphorical (not for their literal meaning) manner can help you get started. 

Read the following news extract from The Tribune business column and try to relate the words to the explanations given.

The equity benchmark Sensex rallied for the fourth straight session on Wednesday, and jumped 267 points, on encouraging second quarter earnings by tech major Infosys and positive global cues.

The 30-share Sensex soared 267.26 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 35,429.74. It had rallied 1,161 points in the previous three sessions.

The broader NSE Nifty was quoting well above the key 10,600-mark. Nifty was up 81.70 points, or 0.77 per cent, to trade at 10,666.45.

Traders said the bullish movement was in line with upbeat Asian shares, following overnight gains at the Wall Street coupled with encouraging earnings by Infosys.

Reliance Industries is scheduled to announce its second quarter earnings later in the day

Exercise

Complete the definitions with the business jargon taken from the text

Example: The term for the value of shares issued by a company is ___equity___.  For example, benchmarks of this such as Sensex and Dow Jones show the relative prices of all shares on a stock exchange.

1. When we talk about stock prices, we say __________ to mean the same thing as "recover after a fall in value".

2. A common way to talk about a hint or sign visible from the global market is global __________. 

3. Financial language is dramatic. Another way to say "rise is value" is __________ - the same way that a bird or aeroplane flies very high in the sky.

4. In the language of the stock market, saying __________ means to give a company a quotation or listing on a stock exchange, at a higher rate than is common/expected.

5. To say a market is __________ means that share prices are rising.

Answers: 1. Rally, 2. Cue, 3. Soar, 4. Quote well above, 5. Bullish

Inputs from Sharon Philip, Enguru App    https://enguruapp.com/