Trading the US market
Market order
Definition
A market order buys or sells right away at the best price available. It fills quickly in a liquid stock but gives you no control over the price, so in a fast market or a thin stock you can be filled well away from the last trade you saw.
Example
Say a thinly traded stock last traded at $8.00, and sellers are offering 400 shares at $8.05, 400 at $8.25 and 200 at $8.40. A market order to buy 1,000 shares takes all three levels at once, for an average price of $8.20, which is 20 cents a share, or $200 in total, above the last trade you saw.
Hypothetical numbers, for illustration only.
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