Catalyst,

Definition of Catalyst:

1. Chemical or substance added or applied to another substance, to initiate or accelerate the rate of a chemical reaction. The catalyst is not consumed in this process and may be used many times before it loses its effectiveness. Nickel, for example, is used in solidification (hydrogenation) of vegetable oils; similarly presence of chlorophyll in plants makes photosynthesis possible that converts carbon dioxide and water into sugars. A catalyst is an opposite of inhibitor.

2. A catalyst in equity markets is an event or other news that propels the price of a security dramatically up or down. A catalyst can be almost anything: an earnings report, an analyst revision, a new product announcement, a piece of legislation, a lawsuit, the outbreak of war, an offer to buy a company, a move by an activist investor, a comment from a CEO or government official, or the conspicuous absence of a company officer at a special event.

3. A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.

4. In the financial media, a catalyst is anything that precipitates a drastic change in a stock's current trend. It can be negative news that rattles investors and breaks upward momentum or good news that pushes the stock out of the doldrums. Since a catalyst can take any number of forms, it's better to give a concrete example.

Synonyms of Catalyst

Agent, Agent provocateur, Agitator, Agitprop, Alterant, Alterative, Alterer, Author, Begetter, Beginner, Catalysis, Catalytic agent, Causer, Creator, Decay, Demagogue, Dialysis, Dissociation, Effector, Engenderer, Exciter, Father, Ferment, Firebrand, Fission, Fomenter, Generator, Goad, Hydrolysis, Hydrolyst, Impetus, Impulse, Incendiary, Incentive, Incitation, Incitement, Inciter, Inflamer, Innovationist, Innovator, Inspirer, Instigator, Introducer, Leaven, Maker, Mischief-maker, Modificator, Modifier, Mother, Motivation, Mover, Originator, Parent, Photolysis, Precursor, Prime mover, Primum mobile, Producer, Provocateur, Provoker, Rabble-rouser, Ringleader, Rouser, Seditionary, Seditionist, Sire, Splitting, Spur, Stimulant, Thermolysis, Transformer, Transmogrifier, Troublemaker, Urger, Yeast, Channel, Medium, Means, Means of expression, Agency, Agent, Instrument, Mechanism, ■■■■■, Apparatus, Structure, Machine, Machinery

How to use Catalyst in a sentence?

1. Some investors and traders look for catalysts to create short-term market opportunities for profit.
2. Chlorine acts as a catalyst promoting the breakdown of ozone.
3. The most common catalysts come in the form of new, often unexpected, information that causes the market to reevaluate a company's business prospects.
4. Catalysts can be anything that leads to a drastic change in a stock's current price trend.