Skip to Main Content
Middlesex University LogoMy Subject

Business: Financial Databases: Datastream

Financial databases provide mostly financial data but also textual information for students studying finance, economics, accounting and financial mathematics

Accessing Datastream via the Excel Add-In

  • Open Eikon Excel and log in on the Thomson Reuters tab
  • On the Thomson Reuters tab, go to Apps > Add-ons
  • Enable Datastream and Datastream Charting; Wait until it says Restart Required then click OK
  • Restart Excel and the Thomson Reuters Datastream tab should be installed

Filling out the Request Form in Datastream

Filling out the request form for a Time Series request: 

 

  • Series - Select the series button to look up companies, indices, etc. 

  • ShapeData types - here you can look up variables such as price, ROAA etc. 

  • Currency picker will allow you to change the default currency (local currency) to one of your choice 

  • The function button allows you to apply a variety of analyses such as standard deviation, percentage change etc. 

  • Time periods - select time periods or specify dates 

  • Options - alters the display of the information such as rows, columns, headings, embedding etc. 

Explorer search

Explorer allows you to browse for key codes by country or sector  

Try this search -

  • Select a Time series request  

  • Equities Explorer – Equities - Open up the UK branch 

  • Select Alternative Energy 

  • Select all the companies listed by clicking on All  

  • Search for Share Price, Market Value, Market Capitalization, Total Assets, EPS (Earnings per Share), Dividend Yield and Turnover by Volume 

  • Date – -5y 

  • Frequency – monthly 

  • Transpose the data, display the code  

  • Click on submit to finish 

If you experience problems following this search, please go HERE to book an appointment or Contact Me  

Finding your series

Finding your series: 

 

  • Click on the Find Series button, this will take you into the Datastream Navigator which will allow you to perform either a text search or an explorer search (browsing) 

  • In the Navigator, select the Data Category, here are some common examples: 

  • Equities 

  • Economics 

  • Exchange Rates 

  • Commodities 

Try this search - Run a simple time series search for the historical price information for 6 equities from the first day of January 2000 to the last day of December 2016 

If you experience problems following this search, please go HERE to book an appointment or Contact Me  

 

Finding codes with Navigator – Free-text or Explorer search

Finding codes with Navigator – Free-text or Explorer search 

 

  • Navigator appears as soon as you click on ‘Find Search’ 

  • Free-text search allows you to search using a google-like search box but you must refine by the data category in order to get the right financial instrument 

Try this search - Run a free text search for the FTSE350 

  • Select and add it to your search box – prefix the code with a capital L for a list – you will be asked if you want to make a list request 

  • Search for the share price code – click on Datatypes  

  • Change the pull-down menu to equities 

  • Click use to bring the code into your search 

  • Alter the time period and the frequency to years and click submit 

  • Make sure that you have your columns, rows and codes displayed and that you have transposed the data to make the information run vertically 

  • The information will be exported into excel 

If you experience problems following this search, please go HERE to book an appointment or Contact Me