A bid by a market participant that involves an approximate/ indicative price for trading of securities. In other words, a dealer would express, though an indication, his/ her willingness to buy or sell a given security. An indication provides rough information about potential dealings, including a dealer’s expectation of a security’s price around a specific period of time. It does not constitute an actual bid.

A dealer implies by an indication that the deal would be subject to final confirmation. In this sense, an indication, involving a nominal quotation, is a subject quotation– i.e., the bid may be altered at the dealer’s discretion.

It is also known as a nominal bid.