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Biotech / Medical : Trinity Biotech (TRIBY)
TRIB 0.758-4.1%Jan 2 3:59 PM EST

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To: Scott H. Davis who wrote (7699)1/4/1998 10:08:00 PM
From: Keiko  Read Replies (2) of 14328
 
Scott,

I am not a Broker but I will take a stab at that one...( maybe a Broker will jump in and add to my explanation if I'm all wet.

Let's look at SIZE......in your example ( 5 x 5 ) lets call that 5000 X 5000...
In other words there are 5000 shares for sale at the bid.
In our example there are also 5000 shares for sale at the ask.
The SIZE of each is 5000.

The BID price is the price at which one can SELL a stock at any given time. The ASK price is the current price being ASKED for a stock.

The difference between the BID and the ASK is the " SPREAD."

What is the significance ?

On listed exchanges it has a very meaningful application.

Bid 10 1/4 x Ask 10 1/2......40 x 80 <----bid-ask size
4000 shares are being bid for at 10 1/4.........8000 shares are being offered at 10 1/2....
In other words a larger ASK SIZE than a BID SIZE means there are many more SELLERS than buyers..( more downward pressure on the stock price.) Some sophistocated traders use these as a guide but in reality these numbers change constantly during any given trading day just as upticks and downticks vary from minute to minute.

Hope this helps......7700 and counting Juergen !
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