In the era of big data the concept of data extraction has grown rapidly and it is used by every industry to lift its growth and profits.
The technique of extracting pertinent data automatically from websites and converting it into structured and usable databases is called web scraping or data scraping. It is not manually possible to extract data from websites that run into several thousands of pages.
Web scraping services can be used by many businesses that lean on data to thrive their businesses. The finance industry is one such that has recently made use of information from websites to build prediction models or actionable insights. There are various successful examples of companies being able to successfully implement their plan of action through the data collected through web scraping.
Application of data scraping for the finance industry:
On this spot there are countless applications of web scraping of financial data. Let us dive into a few of them.
Equity Research
Enterprises offering equity investment services may use web scraping services to collect plenty critical data that will help equity managers to offer the best services to their customers. Market trends, investor buys, price fluctuations, investor sentiments- all these need continuous monitoring. This is made possible with the web scraping of financial data available extensively on popular investment websites.
Market Prediction
Trade & finance experts can predict the future market sentiments by working on the historical data and add it together to form a resourceful guide. The data scraping services for the finance industry contribute extremely towards accurate market prediction and this helps the investment experts to predict the right time to invest. This also helps them to mitigate risks and carefully place their bets on the assured winners.
Stock Market & Trading
The stock market and trading is one of the best cases of the applications of data scraping for the finance industry. Accurate timing is crucial in the stock market. The stock market data is something that is in much demand given the high stakes in it. But what important for stock market investors is the historical data collection that helps them to make informed decisions at the right time. Data for equity fluctuations, company annual reports, revenue and cash flow data, the stock volumes exchanged in day-to-day trading- all these are recognized through data scraping services in finance and this can be done either through APIs or apps.
Informed Investment Decisions
Mutual funds, hedge funds and bonds attract investment when their experts are able to lighten risks and maximize return on investment. Here, web scraping helps them to study the market forces, consumer behavior, volatility in the stock market, financial structuring of corporate entities, business performance, search trends and many other valuable information that helps to draw insights. The data scraping services help venture capitalists to decide the feasibility of startups. Similarly, institutional investors and institutions interested in FDIs evaluate the strength of companies by collecting information from finance websites.
Credit Ratings
Banks and insurance companies require assess the financial strength of borrowing entities to see if they will be able to repay the loans in the future. Data scraping is effective for rate agencies based on their previous performances and earnings. The credit ratings are something that has to be evaluated from time to time and this helps not only the banks and insurance companies but also the borrowing entities to get better financial help.
Given all the benefits of web scraping the financial data, the question that appear is where do the investors or finance managers extract the data? The well-known sources (websites) of data scraping for the financial industry are-
• Nasdaq Stock Market
• Google Finance
• Investopedia
• Money Control
• Yahoo Finance
• Motley Fool Stock Advisor
• Wall Street Journal
• Bloomberg Businessweek
• Reuters
• Forbes
• NSE & BSE India
• Economic Times Market
Conclusion:
It is a given that the data scraping for the finance industry is beneficial for the country’s economic growth. It helps in pouring of investments from foreign institutions and helps the finance markets to thrive in turn benefitting the common investor. In short, there is no limit to what one can achieve with the web scraping of financial data in a market where changes occur every second!