SYMBOL CREATION GUIDE
--------------------STOCKS
All symbols for N.Y.S.E., A.M.E.X., and N.A.S.D.A.Q. stocks are
standard exchange symbols. These symbols can be obtained from your
local account executive or from publications such as "The Standard &
Poor's Stock Guide".
NYSE and AMEX preferred stocks, warrants, and class stocks are special
and require an additional character in the fourth column of the symbol.
When a symbol has less than three characters, fill with blank spaces. Two
special characters may be used in the case of a preferred class stock.
These would be in the fourth and fifth column of the symbol. NASDAQ
preferred stocks add a P to the symbol, class stocks add an A or B to the
symbol, warrants add a W to the symbol.
The special characters are shown below with samples of each:
Type
----
CHR
---
COMMON STOCK
PREFERRED STOCK
STOCK WARRANTS
CLASS A STOCK
CLASS B STOCK
PREFERRED CLASS A
WHEN ISSUED
EMERGING MKT (AMEX)
NASDAQ WARRANT
NASDAQ CLASS A
*
#
A
B
*A
:
E
W
A
CANADIAN STOCKS:
TORONTO EXCHANGE
MONTREAL EXCHANGE
VANCOUVER EXCHANGE
ALBERTA
INTERNATIONAL STOCKS:
LONDON INTL. STOCK EXC.
FRAANKFURT (GERMANY)
PARIS (FRANCE)
ZURICH (SWITZERLAND)
Examples
-------RCA
IBM*
CHR#
HUBA
MNDB
IBM*A
HIA:
MPOE
XLTCW
RDGCA
GE
T
PN
RT
BF
GM
AMGN
*
#
A
B
*A
-T
-O
-V
-E
AAZ-T
NAR-O
ABN-V
CFN-E
QUOTES IN
CANADIAN FUNDS
CANADIAN FUNDS
CANADIAN FUNDS
CANADIAN FUNDS
-L
-R
-F
-Z
DGG-L
WDP-R
EDL-F
NES-Z
PENCE
MARKS
FRENCH FRANCS
SWISS FRANCS
BONDS
CORPORATE BONDS
Only bonds on the New York, American, and NASDAQ Exchanges are available.
No matrix bonds are in the Dial/Data database. The symbol is made from
the 3 character underlining stock symbol (When a symbol has less than
three characters, fill with blank spaces) plus the last 2 digits from its
cusip.
EXAMPLE:
RJR NABISCO 10 1/2
STOCK SYMBOL: RN
CUSIP : 74960LAP1
BOND SYMBOL: RN + P1 = RN P1
MAT. 1998
TREASURY BOND SYMBOLS
Treasury Bond and Note symbols use TN plus the last 3 digits of the cusip
number.
NOTE: Corporate and Treasury Symbol lists are
sent upon request.
OPTION SYMBOL CREATION
STOCKS,INDEXES,LEAPS,
-------------------------------All symbols for traded options are standard OPRA (Options
Price Reporting Authority) format. OPRA has established a
series of letters to denote both the expiration month and the
strike price. The following is an illustration of how a DIAL/DATA
option symbol is created using an OPRA table.
EXAMPLE: IBM DEC 50 call option
"CIBMLJ93"
C is the EXCHANGE
IBM is the STOCK SYMBOL
L is the MONTH CODE
J is the STRIKE CODE
93 is the EXPIRATION YEAR.
EXCHANGE + STOCK SYMBOL + MONTH CODE + STRIKE CODE + EXPIRATION YEAR
COL. 1
COL. 2 - 4
COL. 5
COL. 6
COL. 7 - 8
CODES FOR EXCHANGES:
C = CBOE
A = AMEX
B = PBW
P = PACIFIC
M = NEW YORK
NOTE:
If there are less than 3 characters in the stock symbol,
fill with blanks.
EXPIRATION MONTH CODES
----------------------
CODE
---Month Call Put
-------------JAN
A
M
APR
D
P
JUL
G
S
OTC
J
V
NOTE:
CYCLE
----CODE
---Month Call Put
-------------FEB
B
N
MAY
E
Q
AUG
H
T
NOV
K
W
CODE
---Month Call Put
-------------MAR
C
O
JUN
F
R
SEP
I
U
DEC
L
X
With O.T.C. stocks, the third character of the ticker
symbol becomes a Q; following characters are all dropped.
APPLE, AAPL will be AAQ
STRIKING PRICE CODES
-------------------CODE
---A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
U-Z:
STRIKING PRICES
--------------5 105 205
10 110 210
15 115 215
20 120 220
25 125 225
30 130 230
35 135 235
40 140 240
45 145 245
50 150 250
CODE
---K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
STRIKING PRICES
--------------55 155 255
60 160 260
65 165 265
70 170 270
75 175 275
80 180 280
85 185 285
90 190 290
95 195 295
100 200 300
For non-standard striking prices (uneven splits, spinoffs,
other not normal strike prices)
U = 7 1/2
1/2
V = 12 1/2
W = 17 1/2
X = 22 1/2
Y = 27 1/2
Z = 32
U = 37 1/2
1/2
V = 42 1/2
W = 47 1/2
X = 52 1/2
Y = 57 1/2
Z = 62
U = 67 1/2
1/2
V = 72 1/2
W = 77 1/2
X = 82 1/2
Y = 87 1/2
Z = 92
NOTE: The closing price on stock and index options are determined in
the following method:
If the CLOSE is greater than the BID and less than the ASK,
the actual close is used.
If the CLOSE is less than the BID, the BID is used as
the CLOSE.
If the CLOSE is greater than the ASK, the ASK is used as
the CLOSE.
If there are no trades for the day, than the BID is used
as the CLOSE.
The HIGH & LOW fields are adjusted to be in the range for the CLOSE.