Instrument: MICROSOFT

Minimum Spread: 0.2

Typical Spread: 1.8

Leverage – 400:01:00

Margin: 0.25%

MICROSOFT Trading

Microsoft Corp. engages in the development and support of software, services, devices, and solutions. It operates through the following business segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The company was founded in 1975 by Paul Gardner Allen and William Henry Gates and is headquartered in Redmond, WA.

The Productivity and Business Processes segment consists of devices and platforms, including Office Commercial, Office Consumer, LinkedIn, and Dynamics business solutions.

The Intelligent Cloud segment refers to the public, private, and hybrid server products and cloud services of the company, which can power modern business.

The More Personal Computing segment encompasses products and services geared toward the interest of end-users, developers, and information technology professionals in all devices.

Understanding the MICROSOFT price

MICROSOFT’s stock price represents the company’s current value or its market value. It depicts how much the stock trades at – or the price agreed upon by a buyer and a seller. If there are more buyers than sellers, the stock’s price will climb. If there are more sellers than buyers, the price will drop.

Key Factors to keep in mind while trading MICROSOFT

Fundamental Factors

These factors drive stock prices based on the company’s earnings and profitability from producing and selling goods and services. At the basic level, stock prices are primarily determined by a combination of two things:

• Earnings per share (EPS): This is calculated by dividing the company’s profit by the outstanding shares of its common stock. A higher EPS indicates greater value because investors will pay more for a company’s shares if they think it has higher profits than its share price.
• The valuation multiple: This multiple expresses the company’s future expectations or earnings potential. A higher growth rate will earn the stock a higher multiple and vice-versa.

Technical Factors

These factors are the mix of external conditions that alter the supply and demand for a company’s stock. Some such factors are:

• Inflation:As inflation rises, speculation about the future prices of goods and services leads to a highly volatile market environment. Many investors tend to sell stocks when the inflation rate is rising as this may affect the future earnings potential of a company.
• Strength of Market and Peers: The performance of a company’s stock is measured by the market (index) and within its sector or industry peers. If a company outperforms its peers and the market, there is more demand for it. If it underperforms its peers and market, there is less demand.
• Monetary Policy: Central banks enact monetary policy to control inflation and unemployment and keep economic growth stable and positive. When central banks raise interest rates, investments are discouraged and depressed stock prices are. On the other hand, if a central bank lowers interest rates, it stimulates investment and consumption, generally positively impacting stock prices.

News

News or unexpected developments influence investor sentiment, although it is hard to quantify their impact. Information related to a specific company, such as the release of a company’s earnings report, can also influence the price of a stock.