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Definition · Level 14 · Markets & pitch
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The short list of market numbers a trader keeps in mind: a share index, the VIX, the 10-year yield, the central-bank rate, the main currency pair, oil and gold.
Example
S&P 500, VIX, 10-year yield, EUR/USD, Brent, gold: six lines, re-checked every morning.
Where Tradecraft teaches it
Level 14 · Markets & pitch, in the lesson “Markets awareness: the numbers on the day”: Which US and global numbers to check the morning of an interview, where to read them, and how to say each one.
Related terms
- Level, change, reasonHow to say a market number: where it is, how much it moved on the day or week, and a one-line cause.
- Morning checkPre-interview routine: for each watchlist number, note the level, its change on the day or week and a one-line reason; add today’s data releases and…
- Overnight futuresIndex futures trade almost around the clock, so before the cash market opens they show where shares are likely to start the day.
- Stale numberA market level that is out of date. Quoting one as if it were current is worse than saying you did not check, because the interviewer knows the real…
- “Are you sure?”Often a pressure test rather than a hint that you’re wrong: re-check in one line, then hold a correct answer, or fix a wrong one without fuss.
- Backed upDesk slang for yields rising, so bond prices falling.