A bid by a market participant that involves an approximate/ indicative price for trading of securities. In other words, a dealer would express, though a nominal bid, his/ her willingness to buy or sell a given security. A nominal bid 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 a nominal bid that the deal would be subject to final confirmation. In this sense, a nominal bid, 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 an indication.