How to Read a Stock Price Board: Understanding the Colors and Numbers
A stock price board full of colors and numbers can overwhelm beginners. We explain ceiling/floor/reference prices, bid/ask queues, matched price, volume, and foreign flows.
A "jungle" of green, red, purple, and yellow — how to read it?
The first time looking at a stock price board, beginners are often overwhelmed by rows of flashing numbers and colors. But once you understand the logic, the board becomes easy to read. Here is a guide to the most important parts.
What the colors mean
Colors show the current price versus the reference price:
- Green: price up versus reference.
- Red: price down.
- Yellow: price unchanged (equal to reference).
- Purple: the ceiling price (highest of the session).
- Cyan: the floor price (lowest of the session).
A quick glance at the color tells you whether a stock is up or down and whether it has hit the ceiling/floor.
The important price columns
- Reference (Ref): the anchor for the band, usually the previous session closing price.
- Ceiling / Floor: the highest/lowest prices allowed in the session.
- Matched price: the price of the most recent executed trade — the "truest" number.
- +/- : the change versus the reference.
Bid and ask queues
The "buy side" and "sell side" show the waiting supply and demand:
- Bid: the price levels and volumes buyers are waiting to buy at (usually the 3 best levels).
- Ask: the price levels and volumes sellers are waiting at.
Reading the bid/ask helps you sense pressure: a crowded buy side with rising prices means strong demand; a piled-up sell side means selling pressure. This is a condensed version of the order book.
Volume and foreign flows
- Volume: the total shares matched — reflecting liquidity and interest. A price rise on large volume is more reliable than a thin one.
- Foreign buy/sell: the amount foreign investors buy/sell — related to the foreign ownership room and an important sentiment indicator in the Vietnamese market.
Tips for beginners
- Do not let colors drive emotion: a "sea of red" easily triggers panic, a "sea of purple" easily triggers FOMO — stick to your plan.
- Look at matched price + volume, not just price: a price rise with thin volume means little.
- Understand the order types: to place orders correctly and read the waiting queues right.
Conclusion
A stock price board encodes information with colors (green up, red down, purple ceiling, cyan floor) and price columns of reference/ceiling/floor/matched, bid/ask, volume, and foreign flows. Understanding this logic helps you quickly read a stock state and supply-demand, instead of being overwhelmed by a "jungle" of numbers.
Next step
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