| DBCC | See District Business Conduct Committee | |
| dealer | Any person or company in the business of buying and selling securities for his or her own account, through a broker or otherwise. (See broker) | |
| dealer market | Nasdaq is a competing dealer market, different from an auction market in that many dealers, called Market Makers, use their own capital, research, retail, and/or systems resources to represent a stock. Many Market Makers can represent the same stock; thus, they compete with each other to buy and sell that stock. Auction markets have only one person, a specialist, who in a centralized location or "floor," matches incoming orders to buy and sell each stock. Specialists are not allowed to provide research or retail sales support, and are limited to only one firm's available capital. The average Nasdaq stock has eleven Market Making firms that risk and invest their capital. | |
| dealer spread | See house spread | |
| debenture | An unsecured bond backed solely by the general credit of a company. | |
| debit balance | See credit and debit balance | |
| deleted | A security is no longer included in The Nasdaq Stock Market. | |
| depositary bank | When a company decides to issue American Depositary Receipts, it appoints an authorized depositary, normally part of a large U.S. banking institution or trust company. (See American Depositary Receipts) | |
| depth of market | The number of shares of a security that can be bought or sold at the bid and ask prices near the market without causing a dramatic change in price. (See liquidity ratio) | |
| derivative | A generic term often applied to a wide variety of financial instruments that derive their cash flows, and therefore their value, by reference to an underlying asset, reference rate, or index. | |
| Digital Interface Service Character Interface Presentation Server (DIS/CHIPS) | An alternative to Nasdaq Workstation II service for Nasdaq Level 3 users, DIS/CHIPS connects the Nasdaq network directly to a firm's computer system, allowing the firms to customize functionality for its traders. | |
| direct participation programs (DPP) | Partnership agreements that provide a flow-through of tax consequences to the participants. | |
| DIS/CHIPS | See Digital Interface Service/Character Interface Presentation Server | |
| discretionary account | An account empowering a broker or adviser to buy and sell without the client's prior knowledge and consent. | |
| distribution capability | An investment banker or underwriter's ability to sell shares. | |
| dividend | Distributions to stockholders of cash or stock declared by the company's board of directors. | |
| dividend notification | A requirement that companies notify the Uniform Practice Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market at least 10 days in advance of the record date of a stock dividend so that Nasdaq can set the ex-dividend date. (See ex-dividend date) | |
| downtick | A transaction executed at a price lower than the preceding transaction in that security, or a new quote registered at a lower price than the preceding quote in that security. (See uptick) | |
| DPP | See direct participation programs | |
| due diligence | A thorough investigation of a company that is preparing to go public, undertaken by the company's underwriter and accounting firm. |
