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ENTER ORDER HELP
A quick way to move around the order form is by using the tab key, which takes you from left to right. Using the tab key also helps you make sure you have not missed anything. We follow the tab key's path to describe how to enter an order.
Enter an Order
1. Select Buy or Sell to designate a purchase or sale of securities. Use Sell to "Short" a stock and Buy to "Cover a Short.".
2. Enter the quantity of shares you wish to buy or sell.
· You can enter orders for up to 5,000 shares. If you wish to trade more than 5,000 shares you must enter additional orders (each of which can be for a maximum of 5,000 shares).
3. Fill in the stock symbol.
4. Fill in the Price Field: Prices can be entered in decimal form (e.g. 10.5) or in fractional form (e.g. 10 13/16). For fractions, include a space between the whole number and the fraction, and have no spaces within the fraction. For example, 43 31 /32 is NOT acceptable. "43 31/32" is acceptable.
· Price for NASDAQ stocks may be entered in multiples of 1/32.
· Price for NYSE and AMEX stocks may be entered in multiples of 1/16.
5. Select the order type.
If your order type is:
· Market Order: Do not need to fill in the Price Field.
· Limit Order: Specify the Limit Order's price in the Price Field.
· Stop Market or Stop Limit Order: The price you fill into the " Price Field " will be the stop activation price.
· Stop Limit Order: Set the price of the Limit Order that will be activated by the stop. Fill in the Limit Order's Price in the "Stop Limit Field".
For NASDAQ: Market Order, Limit Order, Stop Market, or Stop Limit.
For NYSE/AMEX: Only Market and Limit Orders.
6. Choose either Day or GTC. Day orders time out at the end of the current trading day. Good-Till Cancel orders will be active for 30 days, and you get e-mail when they expire.
7. Click the "Enter Order" button
· Review confirmation page
· If the order is correct, enter password and then click on "Yes, place this order".
· If the order is not correct, click on "No, do not place this order".
· Check your open orders page to verify which orders are actually placed. This is especially important for orders placed
5 minutes prior to and 15 minutes after the close of the market. Market hours are Monday through Friday from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET.
In certain situations, however, some Nasdaq orders may be processed from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM ET.
Helpful Hints Before Trading
Market Order instructs us to buy or sell stock for you right away at the best price available in the current market (only applies to the three exchanges we trade with, NASDAQ, NYSE/AMEX). When you enter a Buy Market Order, you want to purchase the stock for the best sell price in the market - the Ask. Likewise, by entering a Sell Market Order, you are indicating that you want to the sell the stock for the best buy price in the market - the Bid. If a stock's price is moving rapidly, a Market Order can be filled at a significantly different price than the quote which was indicated upon entry.
Limit Order gives us more precise instructions. A Limit Order sets a price limit beyond which you do not want to place the trade. A Buy Limit Order sets an upper limit price, above which you do not want to buy the shares. Similarly, a Sell Limit Order sets a lower limit, below which you do not want to sell. By using a Limit Order, you eliminate the risk of an unwanted transaction price, but you take a chance that, because there might not be buyers or sellers at your limit price, you will not get an execution.
Marketable and Non-Marketable
Limit Orders priced at or better than the current market are called Marketable Limit Orders. For example, suppose a stock's bid was 20. A Sell Limit Order with a limit of 15 would be marketable. A Sell Limit Order with a limit of 20 1/8 would not be marketable.
Stop Orders: Stop Markets and Stop Limits
Stop Orders are used to buy or sell stock when they move to a certain price. A Stop Limit Order has two components: 1) the Price and 2) the Stop Limit Price; you must fill in both price fields to activate the order. With a Stop Market Order, you must fill in the Price field only, DO NOT fill in the stop limit price.
Stop Activation
The Stop Price is the price at which the order is activated, this is also commonly called the Activation Price. When the stock reaches the Activation Price, the order is activated and entered into the market.
How does one determine when the Stop Order is activated? For Buy Stop Orders, the Stop Order is activated when the stock's price is equal to or greater than the Activation Price. For Sell Stop Orders, the Stop Order is activated when the stock's price is equal to or less than the Activation Price. Here is a complication: For NYSE and AMEX stocks, the stock's price is determined by the Last Trade. For NASDAQ stocks, the price is determined by the Bid (for Stop Sell Orders) or the Ask (for Stop Buy Orders).
Once the Stop Order is activated, an order is entered into the market. A Stop Market becomes a Market Order after activation. A Stop Limit Order becomes a Limit Order after activation. Stop Limit Orders require a Limit Price be entered, so you must enter a Stop Price and a Limit Price.
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