DEFINITION of 'Price Change'
The difference in the cost of an asset or security from one period to another. While it can be computed for any length of time, the most commonly cited price change in the financial media is the "daily price change", which is the change in the price of a stock or security from the previous trading day's close to the current day's close. Price change over a period of time such as year-to-date or past 12 months are also commonly used time periods, and is generally computed as a percentage change.
The difference between the closing price on a trading day and the closing price on the previous trading day. The price change may be positive or negative. For example, if a stock closes at $11 on Tuesday and $12 on Wednesday, it has a price change of +$1. On the other hand, if the stock falls to $10 on Thursday, it has a price change of -$2 with respect to Wednesday. Price change is also called net change.