Recently, many beginners have asked me about seeing strange markers like CA, XD, XM next to stocks in trading apps. They don’t know what they mean and they feel a bit afraid. In fact, these markers are very important—especially when you’re considering whether a stock’s price will go up and whether CA can be bought. You must first figure them out.

Let’s start with CA. CA is short for Corporate Action. Simply put, it means that an important event will happen to this stock within the next 7 days. You can click the CA marker to view the details and understand exactly what the event is and when it will occur. This is crucial, because different events affect your rights in different ways.

The most common are the markers that start with X. XD stands for Excluding Dividend, meaning that if you buy at this point in time, you won’t receive this round of dividends. But if you keep holding until the next time XD appears, then you will be entitled to receive the dividends. Many people ask me whether a stock’s price will go up after CA. Actually, the key depends on what type of event it is.

There are many other X-series markers. XM means you cannot participate in the shareholders’ meeting. XW means you can’t receive the stock warrants. XR means you have no rights to subscribe for new shares. There are also XS, XT, XI, XP, and so on—each one represents that you will lose certain rights. There’s also a special one called XA, which means that if you buy in at this time, you won’t get any rights at all. So when you see these markers, you need to pay special attention.

The T-series markers represent risk warnings. T1, T2, and T3 represent three warning levels, and the higher the level, the more restrictions there are. At T1, you can only buy using a cash account. At T2, in addition to not using a cash account, you also can’t use it as collateral. At T3, even same-day buy and sell settlement is prohibited. These stocks are usually due to prices rising too fast, and the exchange issues protective measures.

Also, watch out for some special markers. H stands for Trading Halt, meaning the stock is suspended for one trading session. SP means the suspension lasts more than one session. NP and NR are items that the company must report to the exchange. NC is the most serious—it means the company may not meet listing requirements, with one year to make corrections. The C marker is a warning marker, indicating the company has financial problems and the risk is high.

My advice is: if you see these markers next to a stock, especially when you’re asking whether a stock’s price will go up and whether CA can be bought, it’s best to click in first to clearly see what the event is. Different markers indicate different risks and opportunities. Sometimes, these markers can even be good opportunities. For example, a company’s stock price might drop due to a certain event, but if you research it clearly, it could end up being a good time to buy.

In summary, this marker system is designed by the exchange to protect investors. It can tell you what might happen next with the stock, giving you plenty of time to decide whether to take action. So developing the habit of checking these markers is truly helpful for your investments.