Market Order
trading · exchange
An instruction to trade immediately against available orders, prioritizing execution over a guaranteed price.
A market order tells a venue to buy or sell against currently executable prices. It normally consumes the best available quotes first and continues through the order book until filled, rejected, canceled by venue protection, or otherwise handled under that venue's rules.
The displayed best bid or ask applies only to the quantity available there. A larger order may fill across several price levels, producing slippage and a volume-weighted average price different from the quote seen before submission.
Execution risk increases with order size, volatility, wide spreads, thin or fragmented liquidity, stale interfaces, and venue outages. Some exchanges convert a requested amount into a protected marketable order or reject fills outside a price band, so users should inspect the venue's exact semantics.
A limit order constrains price but may remain partially or entirely unfilled. A market order increases the chance of prompt execution but does not guarantee a particular price, total fill, or protection from a sudden book move.
Related terms
Limit Order
→An order to buy or sell an asset at a specified price or better, without guaranteeing execution.
trading
Liquidity
→How easily an asset can be bought or sold in size without causing a large price move.
finance · trading
Bid-Ask Spread
→The difference between the highest bid and lowest ask price for an asset.
trading
Slippage
→The difference between the expected trade price and the actual execution price after liquidity and timing effects.
trading