The Stocks iPhone App: A How-To Guide
What is the stocks app on the iPhone? We'll explain everything you need to know about the built-in iOS app
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The Stocks app on the iPhone is a built-in app that lets you get the latest information on the stocks and shares market. As with most Apple software, it appears very simple but packs a lot of functionality. In this guide we will walk you through all of the features of the handy stock app.
What do the numbers mean?
If you’re unfamiliar with the stocks and shares market, you will likely be a bit confused by the numbers on the stock app.
Stock price
The number immediately next to the stock name (7,232.01 for FTSE in the picture) is the current stock value. This is how much it would cost to buy one of that stock in pounds.
Stock price change
To switch between price change, market cap and percentage change, tap the green or red box next to the stock price.
The stock price change is depicted in the green box next to the stock price, and is +26.82 for FTSE in the picture. It will tell you how much the stock price has changed since opening, measured in pounds/dollars
Market cap
The market capitalisation is depicted in the green box next to the share price, and is 110.2B for NKE in the picture. It is the total value of the shares that the company has ever issued, and is used to measure the size of a company
Percentage change
The percentage change is depicted in the green box next to the stock price, and is +0.38% for FTSE in the picture. It will tell you how much the stock price has changed since opening in terms of percentage
Understanding the graph
The graph at the bottom of the screen maps the selected share’s price across time. You can chose how far back you want the graph to show by selecting one of the options at the top of the graph.
The options are: one day (1D), one week (1W), one month (1M), three months (3M), six months (6M), one year (1Y) or two years (2Y)
Turn your phone sideways to see more…
Having your screen portrait will show a simple graph, with basic high and low values and vague dates. If you turn your phone landscape, it will show a larger, more detailed graph. When you swipe left or right on this screen, you will switch between graphs for your selected stocks.
You can track the stock price in a more detailed way with the graph sideways, simply by sliding your finger along the graph to the point in time you want to know the price for.
Taking this a step further, if you do this with two fingers, the Stocks app will calculate the difference in stock price between these two points in time!
The little bar chart at the bottom of the graph shows the volume of shares traded on that day, but it is not very detailed and is only useful for a quick reference.
Checking performance
The bottom half of the screen, where the graph is, is useful for giving you information on the stock you have selected. You will notice below the graph that there are three dots to show you that you can scroll.
If you scroll to the right it will bring up some news stories relating to that stock, and you will be able to scroll through a few different stories.
If you scroll to the left it will bring up some figures relating to the selected stock.
Here’s what the figures mean:
- Open: The price of the stock when it opened trading
- Mkt Cap: Market Capitalisation – the total value of the shares the company has ever issued
- High: The highest price the stock has reached since opening
- 52W High: The highest price the stock has reached in the last 52 weeks
- Low: The lowest price the stock has reached since opening
- 52W Low: The lowest price the stock has reached in the last 52 weeks
- Vol: The number of stocks traded since opening
- Avg Vol: The average number of stocks traded per day
- P/E: The price-earnings ratio=share price/earnings per share
- Yield: The amount of money an investor will get back from their investment, aside from capital appreciation (Yield=annual dividend/price of stock)
How to manage stocks
On the iPhone stocks app, you can also manage which stocks you would like to see, and what order they appear in. You can add and delete stocks from the home page, as well as re-order how they appear.
To manage your stocks, press the three dashes in the bottom right corner. You can add, delete and move stocks from this screen.
To add a stock to your list:
- Press the three dashes in the bottom right corner
- Press the plus “+” button in the top left
- Search the stock you want
- Select the right one
To delete a stock:
- Go to manage stocks screen
- Press the red “-” button on the left of the stock you want to delete
- Press “Delete” on the right
To re-order stocks
To re-order how the stocks appear on your screen, go to the manage stocks screen. Then press and hold the three dashes on the right hand side next to the stock you want to move, and drag to the position you want it to appear.
Using Siri to check stocks
You can use Siri to give you a quick summary of the stock’s perforance, as well as summaries for entire exchanges. Follow the steps below to get Siri to check stock information for you:
- Press and hold down the “Home button” to launch Siri
- Ask Something like “Show me stock information for Google” or “How did the New York Stock Exchange perform today?”
- Siri will then show you an overview about the stock or exchange you asked her about
- Tap anywhere on the stock widget to open the Stocks app
How to control stock notifications
You can add stocks to your notification centre to get quick daily summaries without opening the app. To do this, follow the steps below:
- Swipe down from your home screen
- Swipe to the left on the notifications screen
- Tap the “Edit” button at the bottom
- Find the Stocks app, and press either “+” or “-” to add or delete it from the notification centre (you will have to press “remove” after if you want to delete it)
- Tap “Done” to save
How to delete the Stocks app from your iPhone
You are now able to delete a load of built-in apps from your iPhone, which is ideal for those who want to tide up their non-used apps. The process is the same as you would delete for any other app, and is as follows:
- Tap and hold the Stocks app icon on the home screen until it wiggles
- Tap the “x” that appears on the top left of the app icon
- Tap “remove” when asked
If you want to re-download the Stocks app, all you have to do is visit the app store.
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