Trades of 1 share

[krisbarry]

Many members seem to be very confused about 1 share being bought or sold. You may have see it happen and then looking through the trading history a single share is bought or sold. Sometimes people even make jokes at the buyer or seller for conducting such a silly trade...well think again!

Sometimes this happens when a buy or sell order is not fully transacted and a share or two are left behind in the market depth but more often that not it is a little more interesting...

Lets get one thing straight...the general public using any on-line trading platform cannot purchase 1 share. The transaction gets rejected that is how I know that 1 share purchased is a broker. The broker marks a position for his/her clients using the 1 share. This 1 share may represent hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

[krisbarry]

Re: 1 share

I would like to get other members feedback on this 1 share transaction business as there seems to be so many members confused about the issue. Lets get it out in the open so 14,000+ members are all clear, and understand why this happens

 

[Nick Radge]

Re: 1 share

It actually happens when a broker attempts to cross a trade for two clients. They use 1 share to start the cross and will complete the cross if not hit by another buyer/seller. If they are hit then they will not complete the cross at that point but will then be left holding 1 share which they then go and sell on market.

 

[agro]

Re: 1 share

i've always wondered about that myself,

usually i have thought of it as a marker which gets substituted by the 'real amount'.

thanks very informing

 

[krisbarry]

Re: 1 share

Here is an example...look at the market depth on the buy side and notice the 1 share

 

[krisbarry]

Re: 1 share

Here is another example...2 brokers at work here on the buy side

 

[krisbarry]

Re: 1 share

Thanks Nick that goes some way to explaining this issue, I am suprised that there is no discussion at all about this on ASF, considering it happens all day everyday on thousands of stocks.

 

[yonnie]

Sometimes its traders like me.

I have a partially filled buy order. another opportunity comes up and am at my trading limit with that broker. I downgrade the partially filled buy order to a volume of 1, usually at a lower price, to be able to place another buy order.
I can always upgrade the partially filled order lateron.
However sometimes that volume of 1 order will be traded.

 

[xyzedarteerf]

I often wondered this myself thanks for the info.

 

[Timmy]

Excellent thread - thanks for info.

How long does it take for the real amount of a cross transaction between two clients to get reported?

 

[Nick Radge]

The reported trades are instant and just look like normal volume going through. You'll only ever notice those that get 'clipped' whilst trying to do the cross.

 

[TheIceMan]

Can someone explain what a 'cross' is to a newbie like me. I've heard the term mentioned a fair bit without understanding what it actually means. Are they identified with an 'x' when you look at the course of sales ?

 

[Aviator33]

Hey Ice

Check the previous thread here:

What is a cross trade

And the ASX library here:

The basics of the share market - crossings

And yes, they are usually represented by an "X" or "XT" in the course of sales, then other abbreviations for special crossings, offmarket etc.

Actually while we are on the subject, I always thought a trade of 1 share may also be a way of triggering stops. For instance, LAST at $8.80, BID at $8.78, ASK at $8.80. Put the single share trade thru so it prints at $8.79 and triggers the stops, price drops to say $8.75, cover your stops or pick up a long at 5c cheaper. Or am I just evil?
Cheers
AV