Company/Equities Data (for a small number of companies)

Transcription

1 Company/Equities Data (for a small number of companies) Before you start: please read the guide Logging on and getting started with Datastream. 1. We will search for market value and dividend yield for Sainsbury. First open Excel. 2. Click on Datastream tab> Time Series Request and this box will appear: 3. To find the company you are interested in, click on Find Series button. This will open the Datastream Navigator (see below). The Navigator is used to find Datastream Symbols (or DS Mnemonics). To begin with we will search for the supermarket, Sainsbury and look for its market value. First, choose and click on Equities under Category. Type sainsbury into the search box. Click Search.

2 You will see the first ten results matching your search, with the most relevant results at the top. If necessary, use Refine Search to filter the results. For example, by Market (country) or by currency. When you click on a company, more detailed information is displayed below. Finding the right company look for one that has the right currency (UK Pound in this case) and 3 stars. Click in the box next to Sainsbury and click use. This will return you to the Time Series Request box and place the code SBRY in the Series/Lists box. 4. By default, Datastream will give you price (P), i.e. closing share price for the company. If you would like another type of data (e.g. market value), you will need to search for the code. To find other Datatypes, click on By default bonds and convertibles are selected. Select equities from the drop down list. 2

3 You must search for and retrieve your datatype symbol/code/mnemonic. To find the definitions of the codes, click to highlight the chosen datatype and the definitions box will open. Search for Market Value as shown below. When you put a tick in the box next to your chosen datatype, the Use link will appear. Click on Use this will return you to the Time Series Request box and place the Mnemonic (code) in the Datatypes box. IMPORTANT NOTE: we do not have access to all data types. We do have access to Key Datatypes, Worldscope and Datastream datatypes. We also have access to some IBES datatypes. 5. In the Frequency box, use the drop down list to choose the frequency of the data, i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly. Note: not all data types are available for all frequencies, so you may need to try different options. 6. Choose the time period you are interested in by entering a Start Date and End Date in the format dd/mm/yy. Alternatively you can enter a Start Date number of days (D), weeks (W), months (M), quarters (Q), or years (Y) ago from today, e.g. -3D means start three days ago from today -10Y means start ten years ago from today (note: you must use upper case letters) 7. In the Options section, tick: Display Row Titles Display Column Titles Display Headings Display Currency Embed Visible Button IMPORTANT: Do NOT tick Auto Refresh (This will link your Excel spreadsheet to Datastream and wipe out your data when you use a different PC. 3

4 8. Click Submit to run your request. Your data should look something like this: Note: data will be downloaded into the Excel cell that you are clicked in when you open the Time Series Request box. Data will be downloaded into Excel. You should save the spreadsheet to your H:drive or a memory stick. 4

5 Looking for further data for Sainsbury If you want to download more data on the same company you can return to your search and add this to your time series request. If you want to search for a new company with new variables, open a new worksheet in Excel instead. a/ If you want to add to or amend your search, you can use the visible button that is embedded in your spreadsheet. By default it is entitled refresh, but if you right click on this you get the option to choose editor as shown here. Choosing editor will return you to the time series search box as shown below. b/ Click on datatypes to add a new variable from the Navigator. Clear your last search and then search for Dividend Yield. Tick the box and click on use to add it to your search. The Mnemonic will be added to your search as below. Click on submit to run the search and the new data will be added to your spreadsheet as shown below. 5

6 Remember to save your work to your memory stick or H:drive. When you have finished in Datastream, please log off by choosing file and exit. [HJR/JMH Feb N.B. Some content courtesy of Adam Hill/Harry Gibbs, Southampton University Library 2012.] 6