Format

• Each reported transaction includes a stock ticker symbol; the number of shares in round lots, or 100 share increments, with the last two zeros omitted (i.e., 2,000 shares is reported as 20); and the price.
  
  

Background

• The term comes from the word "tick," which means an upward or downward movement in a stock.
  
  

Uses

• Stock traders who base their decisions on price and volume action used to watch the ticker tape to spot trends--hence the expressions "watch the tape," "tape watching" and "tape watcher." These days, traders use watch lists and charts that display price and volume changes in real time for specific stocks, rather than all market trades.