A market order is a buy or sell order to be executed immediately at current market prices. As long as there are willing sellers and buyers, market orders are filled. Market orders are therefore used when certainty of execution is a priority over price of execution.
A market order is the simplest of the order types. This order type does not allow any control over the price received. The order is filled at the best price available at the relevant time. In fast-moving markets, the price paid or received may be quite different from the last price quoted before the order was entered.
A market order may be split across multiple participants on the other side of the transaction, resulting in different prices for some of the shares.
Read more about this topic: Order (exchange)
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Wi’ reaming swats that drank divinely;”
—Robert Burns (1759–1796)
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