Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Characterized by prices regarded as excessively low because of prior heavy selling and a concomitant decline in prices.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective finance A stock or commodity market condition where there has been significant trading driving prices down to lower levels, levels which seem overextended or excessive on a short-term basis.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

over- +‎ sold

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Examples

  • The only thing that got into a headline was the word "oversold."

    Forbes.com: News TJ Walker 2011

  • "New short-term oversold extremes mean probabilities are increasing for a short-term rebound, but a rebound is probably a reflex affair in a medium-term trend that just turned down," Mr. Roth said.

    'Dow Theory' Confirms Sell Signal Steven Russolillo 2011

  • "The danger here is that people will be lulled into the idea that a strong bull trend is now in place rather than the idea that the market is just bouncing off a short-term oversold condition," said Michael Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners, a trading and research firm in Greenwich, Con.

    Dow's 936-Point Surge Ends Losing Streak 2008

  • The technical help referred to above comes at the hands of trend line support and a bounce from an intermediate-term oversold condition.

    Fed Still Holds Key To Market Rally Chris Johnson 2006

  • While the SPX, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite COMP remain near intermediate-term oversold levels, the shorter term is now becoming a bit overbought, as investors surge from the sidelines to place their bets ahead of Tuesday's interest rate decision.

    No Fear Of The Fed Chris Johnson 2006

  • Wall Street jumped 4 percent overnight in high volume, with relatively low valuations and short-term oversold conditions attracting buyers, though the see-saw moves this week appear to be continuing with U.S. equity markets set for a weaker open.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • On the technical analysis side, the additional five-day market plunge following the disaster in Japan had markets short-term oversold, and likely to see a short-term rally off the oversold condition, but it's questionable whether a bottom is in yet, particularly in the U.S.

    Forbes.com: News Sy Harding 2011

  • "'There was definitely a cleaning house of sorts in many commodities towards the end of the year, and that resulted in shorter-term oversold conditions in some commodities," said Michael Cuggino, who helps manage about $15 billion of assets at Permanent Portfolio Funds in San Francisco.

    BusinessWeek.com -- Top News 2012

  • Short-term oversold conditions could be triggering the strength.

    FXstreet.com ForexHound.com 2010

  • The challenge now is that markets have turned from being longer-term oversold to short-term overbought.

    US Market Commentary from Seeking Alpha 2010

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