4 Answers

Ask = say something in order to obtain an answer or some information.

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You are wanting something or you wan't to know something.

The questioner wants to know what "ask" means in Finance and Investing.

There are two prices when you try to buy a stock:  the bid price and the ask price.  The bid price is the highest price someone is willing to buy a stock at the current market condition.  For example, someone is willing to buy Caterpillar (CAT) @ the price of $79.90 per share.  The "ask" price is the price in which a seller is willing to sell CAT at the same moment, say $80.00 per share.  The difference between the 2 values is called the "Spread".  This is the amount the specialist or trader makes on the floor of the exchange.

The market price, buy and sell, is the amount that the buyer or seller wants to execute at whatever the market is asking at the time.