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Investing & the Stock Market vocabulary · Market News & Sentiment

Sell-off

Meaning in investing & the stock market, with examples

/ˈsel ɔːf/nounCommon term

In investing & the stock market, sell-off means: A sudden period in which many investors sell at the same time, causing prices of a stock, sector or whole market to fall quickly.

In Turkish: satış dalgası, sert satış, toplu satış

How it is used

Used in news headlines: a sell-off hits, deepens, spreads or eases. It can be triggered by bad data, a profit warning or global events. The phrasal verb is 'sell off': 'investors sold off tech shares'. The noun has a hyphen; the verb does not.

Example sentences

  1. The sell-off spread from technology to almost every sector by midday.

  2. Investors started to sell off airline shares after fuel prices jumped.

Common collocations

  • sharp sell-off
  • market sell-off
  • trigger a sell-off
  • the sell-off deepened
  • sell off shares
  • correctionA fall in prices of usually at least 10 percent from a recent high, seen as a pause or adjustment after a strong rise rather than the start of a long decline.
  • bear marketA long period in which prices in a market fall and investors are generally pessimistic. It is often defined as a fall of 20 percent or more from a recent high.
  • volatilityHow much and how quickly the price of an investment or a market moves up and down. High volatility means large, frequent price swings.
  • profit-takingSelling investments after their price has risen in order to turn paper gains into real cash, which can cause a short fall in prices.
  • market sentimentThe general mood or attitude of investors towards a market or asset, such as optimism or fear, which can push prices in one direction.

More terms: Market News & Sentiment

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.