London quotations. A quotation on the London Stock Exchange merely means the price at which
the jobber or dealer (practically a wholesaler in shares, that is, stocks) will either buy or sell, and
he will do either. Thus, when a jobber quotes 99 3-4—100 £-4 it means that he will buy at 99 3-4
or will seil at IOO 1-4. When in giving a quotation the middle price is named it means the price
midway between the jobber's buying and selling prices. In a regular quotation 99 3-4-—100 1-4
the middle price is 100.  On the New York Stock Exchange the quotations (except the bid and
asked quotations) are the prices at which actual transactions took place. The bid and asked
quotations are those printed by the ticker on the tape after the close of the stock exchange and
while nominal are as nearly the actual prices offered for or asked for stocks as are possible to
obtain. They are furnished by the specialists in the different stocks—the brokers who make a
specialty of executing orders in those stocks. The bid and asked prices are the only gage to the
market value of stocks infrequently dealt in, especially those in which one or more days elapse
between transactions.
Also see Quotation.