Markets · 6 pages · 12 min

How a limit order differs from a market order

A limit order caps the price and may wait, while a market order takes the quotes available now.

I understand the following: I can download a file of this brief, and I can also read it in the library on this browser. Clearing the cache or cookies deletes the library copy. The file must be downloaded for access to be retained.

When the purchase is complete, return to the original window. It will refresh.

From the opening

A limit order names the worst price the trader will accept, buying at that price or better or selling at that price or better, and it may wait unfilled. A market order asks to trade now at the best prices currently available, and it puts the fill ahead of any price cap the trader might have wanted. The opening covers a limit names the worst price, a market order takes standing quotes, and waiting can mean no fill.

The rest of the brief — the later sections and the reading notes — opens after Stripe confirms payment.

Inside

A limit names the worst price
A market order takes standing quotes
Waiting can mean no fill
Immediacy pays the spread
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

Limit order versus market order
Making and taking liquidity

03Reading a balance sheet in one sittingMarkets34 min$22 11What a credit score is countingMarkets28 min$20 0890How a stock is a slice of a companyMarkets12 min$11

How a limit order differs from a market order

From the opening

Inside

Sources

Also on the desk