Difference Between Google Finance Prices

Axel

Hi,

Does anyone know why there is a difference between Google Finance closing prices and almost every other site I have looked at? I know they will be different throughout the day as Google is now real time and the others are 15 minute delayed but the closing prices should be the same.

Current examples after the marker closed for about 1 hour, giving time for sites to update, although 15 minutes should be enough.

International Power: GF=345.76, FT.Com=350.10

Jardine Lloyd Thom: GF=699.02. FT.Com=693.50

Tesco: GF=317.94 FT.Com=320

Man Grp: GF=143.34 FT.Com=147.50

Cluff Gold: GF=99.89 FT.Com=97.75

These are only a handful of examples from companies I monitor, so there must be hundreds of discrepancies and some of them substantial and not just "rounding up". Every other site I look at, including Citywire, I.I.I.etc, is exactly the same closing prices as FT.Com, so why is Google different?

Axel

Sceptic001

According to the Tesco website, 317.94 was the "last trade price", but 320 was the "closing price". So both prices would appear to be correct, but maybe someone could explain why the closing price can differ significantly from the last trade price?

chris_m

I don't know why, but I do know that one I follow had a significant difference between my MoneyExtra portfolio and my Google Finance one, around 8% of the SP higher on Google. When I looked at the latest trades on DigitalLook, the last trade shown there was at the Google price and was a little after 16:30 too.
I wonder if it's trades in the last few minutes of trading taking a little while to complete and show up, hence Google showed it whilst other sites use 16:30 as a hard cutoff and ignore any changes after that time?

Axel

Thanks for that, the plot thickens!

According to your Tesco link, we now have three prices!

Last Closing price: 316.10

Last Trade Price: 317.94

Share price at close: 320.00

As you say hopefully someone will explain!

Axel

sabretoothtigger

Trading does not cease at 4:30

Also trading can occur before 8am however retail investors do not have access and the volume of these trades is usually quite low.
If there is news over night you will often find the price produces a gap between the afternoon close and the morning open this is because large holders have done deals out of hours.


In USA its a bit more open and yahoo will show after market prices, they obviously have varied time zones and its a bit more relevant but still its inaccurate to guess how much is being sold


Large firms are quoted around the world. BP trades in New York till 9pm in large amounts as does Barclays or BCS

Axel

Yes I have heard of out of hours trading and wondered if it had to do with that, however it does not explain why the Tesco web site shows three different prices and what each price means?

Axel

sabretoothtigger

closing would be 4.30

after closing is clearing where all the major dealers clear up their books and swap trades to try and make themselves even. They are given major advantages as they form the backbone of the exchange, they arent supposed to be profiting exactly just taking a percent of each matched trade or the spread

So last trade might be the last recorded deal of the day, it is possible for large moves in clearing to happen especially if new york moves. FTSE has moved 50 pts up in clearing but it reversed afterwards.
Often the price will go round the block a few times but nobody is sure

You should read a book or theres probably a website. I havent double checked a source for the exact process


LSE doesnt really care about retail, you all are paupers. But you might find something of use here, they cater to business itself really:
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/home/homepage.htm

sabretoothtigger

RNS Number : 6294Y
Sunkar Resources PLC
02 March 2012


Price Monitoring Extension

Today's closing auction call period has been extended in this security by 5 minutes.

Auction call extensions give London Stock Exchange electronic order book users a further opportunity to review the prices and sizes of orders entered in an individual security's closing auction call before the execution occurs. A price monitoring extension is activated when the matching process would have otherwise resulted in an execution price that is a pre-determined percentage above or below the price of the most recent automated execution today.

The applicable percentage is set by reference to a security's Millennium Exchange sector. This is set out in the Sector Breakdown tab of the Parameters document at https://www.londonstockexchange.com/tradingservices

An example.

yefi

Axel wrote: »

Every other site I look at, including Citywire, I.I.I.etc, is exactly the same closing prices as FT.Com, so why is Google different?

Axel

Because it's *broken*. It reports the last trade no matter the type.

For example, the closing price for my stock is 388, but Google reports 377. Looking at the London Stock Exchange website, the last trade was type NK, a negotiated trade with delayed publication. This does not affect the closing price because it was executed in the past, yet this is the trade Google is using for the closing price.