Buying/selling at market

bookcooker · 1 February 2016

I am using comsec and it gives you the option of selecting "at market", so the stock price will be the last price the share bought/sold at.

1. By selecting at market will my order be executed immediately?
2. If I wanted to buy a stock and the at market price was 50 dollars but when I look at the market depth table I see a seller is willing to sell at 49 dollars. Will I be able to place an order at $49 instead of $50 and still have my order, executed immediately?
3. If I take the inverse of the above scenario will my outcome still be the same? i.e. sell instead of buy

Thank you

Gringotts Bank · 1 February 2016

bookcooker said:
I am using comsec and it gives you the option of selecting "at market", so the stock price will be the last price the share bought/sold at.

1. By selecting at market will my order be executed immediately?
2. If I wanted to buy a stock and the at market price was 50 dollars but when I look at the market depth table I see a seller is willing to sell at 49 dollars. Will I be able to place an order at $49 instead of $50 and still have my order, executed immediately?
3. If I take the inverse of the above scenario will my outcome still be the same? i.e. sell instead of buy

Thank you

1. probably - [occasionally brokers will do a manual check before allowing the order to go to market]
2. yes, then it's called a 'limit buy order', not 'at market'. You decide how high you're willing to go.

https://www.commsec.com.au/support/frequently-asked-questions/21.html

luutzu · 1 February 2016

bookcooker said:
I am using comsec and it gives you the option of selecting "at market", so the stock price will be the last price the share bought/sold at.

1. By selecting at market will my order be executed immediately?
2. If I wanted to buy a stock and the at market price was 50 dollars but when I look at the market depth table I see a seller is willing to sell at 49 dollars. Will I be able to place an order at $49 instead of $50 and still have my order, executed immediately?
3. If I take the inverse of the above scenario will my outcome still be the same? i.e. sell instead of buy

Thank you

Always put down the price you want to buy or sell.

bookcooker · 1 February 2016

Gringotts Bank said:
1. probably - [occasionally brokers will do a manual check before allowing the order to go to market]
2. yes, then it's called a 'limit buy order', not 'at market'. You decide how high you're willing to go.

https://www.commsec.com.au/support/frequently-asked-questions/21.html

Take a look at this:
http://imgur.com/LWCWJn2
As you can see a seller is willing to sell at 54
But the market price is 56
So couldn't I place an order at 54 and it will still be executed immediately rather than order at market price of 56?

AlterEgo · 2 February 2016

bookcooker said:
Take a look at this:
http://imgur.com/LWCWJn2
As you can see a seller is willing to sell at 54
But the market price is 56
So couldn't I place an order at 54 and it will still be executed immediately rather than order at market price of 56?

You seem to be confusing "at market" with "last price". The last traded price has nothing to do with what price you'll pay by buying "at market". Buying "at market" will buy at the best available price, so in your example, $54.33, depending of course on what quantity you wish to buy compared to how much is available at that price. So in your example, if you placed an "at market" order for 500 shares, you'd get the 460 shares that are available at $54.33, and the remaining 40 shares would be bought at the next best available price, $56.33 in your example.

Gringotts Bank · 2 February 2016

bookcooker said:
Take a look at this:
http://imgur.com/LWCWJn2
As you can see a seller is willing to sell at 54
But the market price is 56
So couldn't I place an order at 54 and it will still be executed immediately rather than order at market price of 56?

Put your limit buy order in at 54.33, ie the current best offer.

bookcooker · 2 February 2016

AlterEgo said:
You seem to be confusing "at market" with "last price". The last traded price has nothing to do with what price you'll pay by buying "at market". Buying "at market" will buy at the best available price, so in your example, $54.33, depending of course on what quantity you wish to buy compared to how much is available at that price. So in your example, if you placed an "at market" order for 500 shares, you'd get the 460 shares that are available at $54.33, and the remaining 40 shares would be bought at the next best available price, $56.33 in your example.

Well that is what comsec is using. As you can clearly see in the picture "at market" = "last price". That is what confuses me logically the best buy price would be $54.33 yet when you click "at market" the price is $56.270. Why would comsec do this? Wouldn't they want to set the buy price as the best price for you?

AlterEgo · 3 February 2016

bookcooker said:
Well that is what comsec is using. As you can clearly see in the picture "at market" = "last price". That is what confuses me logically the best buy price would be $54.33 yet when you click "at market" the price is $56.270. Why would comsec do this? Wouldn't they want to set the buy price as the best price for you?

It wouldn't buy at that price. You are buying the shares from the market, not from Commsec, so you'll get filled at whatever price is available in the market at the time. As it shows on your screenshot, it says that is an order 'estimate'. They seem to be using the last price in their calculation for their estimate, but that's not really accurate. However, you should note that the market depth, as shown in your screenshot, could change at any moment as other people are buying and selling all the time. So by the time you click the buy button and your order executes, those prices may have changed and you may get filled at a different price, maybe higher price, maybe lower price. Hence why they say it is an 'estimate'.

However if you want to be sure, then place a limit order for $54.33 instead, as that will ensure you pay no more than that much. But there is the risk that you may not get filled at all, if for example, someone else buys all the shares available at $54.33 moments before you click the buy button.

bookcooker · 3 February 2016

AlterEgo said:
It wouldn't buy at that price. You are buying the shares from the market, not from Commsec, so you'll get filled at whatever price is available in the market at the time. As it shows on your screenshot, it says that is an order 'estimate'. They seem to be using the last price in their calculation for their estimate, but that's not really accurate. However, you should note that the market depth, as shown in your screenshot, could change at any moment as other people are buying and selling all the time. So by the time you click the buy button and your order executes, those prices may have changed and you may get filled at a different price, maybe higher price, maybe lower price. Hence why they say it is an 'estimate'.

However if you want to be sure, then place a limit order for $54.33 instead, as that will ensure you pay no more than that much. But there is the risk that you may not get filled at all, if for example, someone else buys all the shares available at $54.33 moments before you click the buy button.

Oh ok that clears things up a bit more, so if I clicked at market, and assuming no shares were bought and sold during my transaction my buy price would actually be $54.33 not $56.270?

AlterEgo · 3 February 2016

bookcooker said:
Oh ok that clears things up a bit more, so if I clicked at market, and assuming no shares were bought and sold during my transaction my buy price would actually be $54.33 not $56.270?

Yes

Buying/selling at market

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