ngombi: appreciated your reply, specially last paragraph. Thank you.
skc: For purpose of learning only (not trading with ''real'' money) I am using demos on platforms: Interactive Brokers, eSignal, Speedtrader. Unless I find some better analyzing/trading platform, I will most likely use Speedtrader because Interactive Brokers isn't realtime but with 1 delay. I want to be realtime so to the same microsecond as prices are really varying. For me the term ''better'' (have to explain it since for someone might be this term different than for anyone else) actually means platform with higher amount of features. Anyway, the reason for saying this is that I didn't notice anywhere ''stop market'' or stop limit'' type of orders. Per my understanding on the start of stocks trading ''career'' there are only and exactly the following three types of orders with exact quoted names and Nothing else:
"Market" Order Type
"Limit" Order Type
"Stop" Order Type
For me types/terms "Stop Market" and "Stop Limit" don't exist (yet). NOT because I wouldn't want to learn this but because I haven't heard this on either of resources I am learning from so I am going to have big problems understanding what you meant with:
(at market or at limit, depending on the broker)
Here:
If someone else trades at $20.58
With term ''trades'' you were referring to both/either selling and/or buying case BUT only if this person (''someone else'') trades at STOP order. Only this one. Market and/or limit don't count here. Correct (*****)? So according to what you said and what I quoted then my Stop order for buying case will be executed/triggered already if only ONE person, whoever, does explained trade. Is this correct what you meant with term ''someone else trades''?
If there are any remaining asks at $20.58 you will be buying at that price
I might be going into too small details but buying/asks in what time interval? As long as order is still active and/or NOT cancelled by me. Is this correct?
if there are no more asks at $20.58, you may end up buying at a higher price
So if not even one person buys at $20.58 - this is what you were probably referring with ''no more asks''.
However, as far as I understood and what
ngombi said, since its Stop order, I define the price for which i want to buy or sell but now you are saying ''end up buying at a higher price.'' This isn't what ngombi said - this isn't anymore my defined price unless you SKC meant that I define ''higher price'' once again. Did you mean this? Do I define that higher price if not even one person (after my order is added/verified but NOT executed) buys at this exact price? If I remember correctly, when I was checking this on IB demo, I didn't get any requirement to add another price for Stop (buying) order in such case. As ''requirement'' is meant I would at least expect (any platform) window that automatically pops up where I am notified that noone bought for this exact price and therefore I need to enter new price (does that new price MUST be higher? or can be equal previous one once again? or can be lower?). I highly doubt platform (once again, any platform, so asking/saying generally) would ''force'' me to buy at some random price if I don't agree with it. Once again, in this paragraph I am only referring to:
- who is considered as ''no more asks''? Is one person only enough?
- whatever exactly happens if noone buys at $20.58: i don't think first next price that probably comes in next few microseconds would force me to buy (automatically).
Therefore if at least one person trades (buys/stop order Only - see ''*****'' symbol above - just wanted to be understandable) at this price, my order will be executed
IMMEDIATELY (or at later time? or when broker reacts? probably immediately) when this happens.
If you sell at stop price (say you specify to be $20.58), your stop order will be triggered straight away (as the last price was $20.57 which is less than your stop price) and a sell order (at market or at limit, depending on the broker) will be sent. You will sell into the current bids at $20.57 and trade at that price.
So here Last price is important. Ngombi said its not (neither ask,bid) but he was probably referring to the fact according to which price type do I sell/buy.
What if the price of type Last was equal to my defined one?
What if above?
I thought I will be having problems understanding in selling case of Stop this:
(at market or at limit, depending on the broker)
as I have problems understanding in buying case of Stop (see reason above - same quotation) but you are basically saying I always sell at price shown by price type Last. This is understandable yes but different comparing to Ngombi's words. So all information/question still needed for selling case of Stop order is what if price was equal? and what if price was higher? you only said for lower case.