What is a Stock Exchange?

A common platform where buyers and sellers come together to transact in stocks and shares. It may be a physical entity where brokers trade on a physical trading floor via an “open outcry” system or a virtual environment.

What is electronic trading?

Electronic trading eliminates the need for physical trading floors. Brokers can trade from their offices, using fully automated screen-based processes. Their workstations are connected to a Stock Exchange’s central computer via satellite using Very Small Aperture Terminus (VSATs). The orders placed by brokers reach the Exchange’s central computer and are matched electronically.

How many Exchanges are there in India?
The Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) are the country’s two leading Exchanges. There are 20 other regional Exchanges, connected via the Inter-Connected Stock Exchange (ICSE). The BSE and NSE allow nationwide trading via their VSAT systems.

What is an Index?
An Index is a comprehensive measure of market trends, intended for investors who are concerned with general stock market price movements. An Index comprises stocks that have large liquidity and market capitalisation. Each stock is given a weightage in the Index equivalent to its market capitalisation. At the NSE, the capitalisation of NIFTY (fifty selected stocks) is taken as a base capitalisation, with the value set at 1000. Similarly, BSE Sensitive Index or Sensex comprises 30 selected stocks. The Index value compares the day’s market capitalisation vis-a-vis base capitalisation and indicates how prices in general have moved over a period of time.

How does one execute an order?
Select a broker of your choice and enter into a broker-client agreement and fill in the client registration form. Place your order with your broker preferably in writing. Get a trade confirmation slip on the day the trade is executed and ask for the contract note at the end of the trade date.

Why does one need a broker?
As per SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India.) regulations, only registered members can operate in the stock market. One can trade by executing a deal only through a registered broker of a recognised Stock Exchange or through a SEBI-registered sub-broker.

What is a contract note?
A contract note describes the rate, date, time at which the trade was transacted and the brokerage rate. A contract note issued in the prescribed format establishes a legally enforceable relationship between the client and the member in respect of trades stated in the contract note. These are made in duplicate and the member and the client both keep a copy each. A client should receive the contract note within 24 hours of the executed trade. Corporate Benefits/Action

What is a book-closure/record date?
Book closure and record date help a company determine exactly the shareholders of a company as on a given date.

Book closure refers to the closing of register of the names or investors in the records of a company. Companies announce book closure dates from time to time. The benefits of dividends, bonus issues, rights issue accruing to investors whose name appears on the company’s records as on a given date, is known as the record date.

An investor might purchase a share-cum-dividend, cum rights or cum bonus and may therefore expect to receive these benefits as the new shareholder. In order to receive this, the share has to be transferred in the investor’s name, or he would stand deprived of the benefits. The buyer of such a share will be a loser. It is important for a buyer of a share to ensure that shares purchased at cum benefits prices are transferred before book-closure. It must be ensured that the price paid for the shares is ex-benefit and not cum benefit.

What is the difference between book closure and record date?
In case of a record date, the company does not close its register of security holders. Record date is the cut off date for determining the number of registered members who are eligible for the corporate benefits. In case of book closure, shares cannot be sold on an Exchange bearing a date on the transfer deed earlier than the book closure. This does not hold good for the record date.

What is a no-delivery period?
Whenever a company announces a book closure or record date, the Exchange sets up a no-delivery (ND) period for that security. During this period only trading is permitted in the security. However, these trades are settled only after the no-delivery period is over. This is done to ensure that investor’s entitlement for the corporate benefit is clearly determined.

What is an ex-dividend date?
The date on or after which a security begins trading without the dividend (cash or stock) included in the contract price.

What is an ex-date?
The first day of the no-delivery period is the ex-date. If there is any corporate benefits such as rights, bonus, dividend announced for which book closure/record date is fixed, the buyer of the shares on or after the ex-date will not be eligible for the benefits.

What is a Bonus Issue?
While investing in shares the motive is not only capital gains but also a proportionate share of surplus generated from the operations once all other stakeholders have been paid. But the distribution of this surplus to shareholders seldom happens. Instead, this is transferred to the reserves and surplus account. If the reserves and surplus amount becomes too large, the company may transfer some amount from the reserves account to the share capital account by a mere book entry. This is done by increasing the number of shares outstanding and every shareholder is given bonus shares in a ratio called the bonus ratio and such an issue is called bonus issue. If the bonus ratio is 1:2, it means that for every two shares held, the shareholder is entitled to one extra share. So if a shareholder holds two shares, post bonus he will hold three.

What is a Split?
A Split is book entry wherein the face value of the share is altered to create a greater number of shares outstanding without calling for fresh capital or altering the share capital account. For example, if a company announces a two-way split, it means that a share of the face value of Rs 10 is split into two shares of face value of Rs 5 each and a person holding one share now holds two shares.

What is a Buy Back?
As the name suggests, it is a process by which a company can buy back its shares from shareholders. A company may buy back its shares in various ways: from existing shareholders on a proportionate basis; through a tender offer from open market; through a book-building process; from the Stock Exchange; or from odd lot holders.
A company cannot buy back through negotiated deals on or off the Stock Exchange, through spot transactions or through any private arrangement. Clearing and Settlement

What is a settlement cycle?
The accounting period for the securities traded on the Exchange. On the NSE, the cycle begins on Wednesday and ends on the following Tuesday, and on the BSE the cycle commences on Monday and ends on Friday.

At the end of this period, the obligations of each broker are calculated and the brokers settle their respective obligations as per the rules, bye-laws and regulations of the Clearing Corporation.
If a transaction is entered on the first day of the settlement, the same will be settled on the eighth working day excluding the day of transaction. However, if the same is done on the last day of the settlement, it will be settled on the fourth working day excluding the day of transaction.

What is a rolling settlement?
The rolling settlement ensures that each day’s trade is settled by keeping a fixed gap of a specified number of working days between a trade and its settlement. At present, this gap is five working days after the trading day. The waiting period is uniform for all trades.

When does one deliver the shares and pay the money to broker?
As a seller, in order to ensure smooth settlement you should deliver the shares to your broker immediately after getting the contract note for sale but in any case before the pay-in day. Simliarly, as a buyer, one should pay immediately on the receipt of the contract note for purchase but in any case before the pay-in day.

What is short selling?
Short selling is a legitimate trading strategy. It is a sale of a security that the seller does not own, or any sale that is completed by the delivery of a security borrowed by the seller. Short sellers take the risk that they will be able to buy the stock at a more favourable price than the price at which they “sold short.”

What is an auction?
An auction is conducted for those securities that members fail to deliver/short deliver during pay-in. Three factors primarily give rise to an auction: short deliveries, un-rectified bad deliveries, un-rectified company objections

Is there a separate market for auctions?
The buy/sell auction for a capital market security is managed through the auction market. As opposed to the normal market where trade matching is an on-going process, the trade matching process for auction starts after the auction period is over.

What happens if the shares are not bought in the auction?
If the shares are not bought at the auction i.e. if the shares are not offered for sale, the Exchange squares up the transaction as per SEBI guidelines. The transaction is squared up at the highest price from the relevant trading period till the auction day or at 20 per cent above the last available Closing price whichever is higher. The pay-in and pay-out of funds for auction square up is held along with the pay-out for the relevant auction.

What is bad delivery?
SEBI has formulated uniform guidelines for good and bad delivery of documents. Bad delivery may pertain to a transfer deed being torn, mutilated, overwritten, defaced, or if there are spelling mistakes in the name of the company or the transfer. Bad delivery exists only when shares are transferred physically. In “Demat” bad delivery does not exist.

What are company objections?
A list documenting reasons by a company for not transferring a share in the name of an investor is called company objections. Rejection occurs due to a signature difference, or fake shares, or forgery, or if there is a court injunction preventing the transfer of the shares.

What should one do with company objections?
The broker must immediately be notified. Company objection cases should be reported within 12 months from the date of issue of the memo for the original quantity of share under objection.

Who has to replace the shares in case of company objections?

The member who has sold the shares first on the Exchange is responsible for replacing the shares within 21 days of the Exchange being informed. Company objection cases that are not rectified or replaced are normally auctioned.

How does transfer of physical shares take place?
After a sale, the share certificate along with a proper transfer deed duly stamped and complete in all respects is sent to the company for transfer in the name of the buyer. Once the transfer is registered in the share transfer register maintained by the company, the process of transfer is complete.

A few Links to Regulators:

• Investor’s Rights
• Arbitration Proceedings
• SEBI Guidelines
• SEBI’s Acts & Regulations for StockBrokers