A-share jargon for absolute beginners: every number on the quote panel, candlesticks and moving averages, the order book and call auction, share capital and market cap, valuation metrics, dividends and ex-rights, and money-flow data.
Part 1 of the A-Share Concepts Explained series: using a real quote panel as teaching material, we walk through ten numbers one by one — open, close, high, low, percent change, price change, volume, turnover value, amplitude, and turnover rate — how each is calculated, what it means, and which ones are worth watching and which aren't.
Part 2 of the A-Share Concepts Explained series: how one candlestick packs in four prices, how to read bullish and bearish candles, bodies and shadows, the difference between intraday charts and candlestick charts, how the MA5/10/20/60 moving averages are computed, what golden crosses and death crosses actually mean, and why moving averages are 'description' rather than 'prediction.'
Part 3 of the A-Share Concepts Explained series: what best bid/best ask and the five-level order book are, the difference between limit and market orders, the rules of the three phases of the 9:15–9:25 call auction (including the detail that orders can't be cancelled after 9:20), how to read bid-side/ask-side volume and the order-ratio and volume-ratio indicators, and why 'resting orders' are the most deceptive data of all.
Part 4 of the A-Share Concepts Explained series: the difference between total shares, free-float shares, and restricted shares; how total market cap and free-float market cap are computed; why a 'low share price' doesn't mean 'cheap'; the difference between forward-adjusted, backward-adjusted, and unadjusted candlestick charts; and why your share count can change after a bonus issue while nothing has actually happened.
Part 5 of the A-Share Concepts Explained series: the difference between the three P/E variants (static / forward / TTM), why P/B suits banks but not internet companies, the boundaries of P/S, how dividend yield is calculated and its traps, why ROE is the metric Buffett values most, and the shared 'rearview mirror' limitation of all valuation metrics.
Part 6 of the A-Share Concepts Explained series: the difference between the three ways of 'distributing' — cash dividends, bonus shares, and capital-reserve conversions; the record date / ex-date timeline; how the ex-rights/ex-dividend reference price is calculated; the dividend-tax holding-period tiers (20% under 1 month, tax-free after 1 year); and price recovery after ex-rights ('filling the gap'), falling below it, and the 'high bonus-share' illusion.
Part 7 (finale) of the A-Share Concepts Explained series: what northbound flows are and why real-time intraday disclosure was discontinued, the statistical-trap methodology behind 'main capital net inflow,' the listing rules of the dragon-tiger list, the margin-trading concepts of margin balance and securities lending, and finally a principles checklist for beginners reading market data.