Some order types, like take profit and stop loss can be combined.
Traders should be intimately familiar with the various types of orders before executing trades in order to avoid potentially catastrophic losses.
In general, traders should use limit orders in order to ensure that they are getting the prices and quantities that they want.
One size does not fit all and traders should consider their individual situations before deciding. It is important that you understand how to choose the best order types for your trading strategy.
Market OrderA Market Order is an order to buy or sell at the prevailing market price. The execution of this Order results in the opening of a trade. Orders are bought at the ASK price and sold at the BID price. Stop Loss and Take Profit Orders can be included in a Market Order during its opening, or after it’s placed.
Pending Orders
A Pending Order is an Order that allows the user to buy or sell at a pre-defined price, sometime in the future. Pending Orders are executed once the price reaches a pre-defined level.
Under certain trading conditions, it may be impossible to execute these Orders at the requested price. In this case, the order will execute at the next best available price.
Stop Loss and Take Profit orders can be included in a Pending Order. Also, pending orders are good till canceled, meaning they will not expire and will either remain active until they are either filled or canceled.
Buy Stop: This is an Order to buy at a specified price (the ‘stop price') that is higher than the current market price. Once the market reaches the ‘stop price’, the ‘stop order’ is triggered and treated as a Market Order.Sell Stop: This is an Order to sell at a specified price (the ‘stop price') that is lower than the current market price. Once the market reaches the ‘stop price’, the ‘stop order’ is triggered and treated as a Market Order.Buy Limit: This is an order to buy at a specified price (the ‘limit price') that is lower than the current market price. Once the market reaches the ‘limit price’ the order is triggered and treated as a Market Order.Sell Limit: This is an order to sell at a specified price (the ‘limit price') that is higher than the current market price. Once the market reaches the ‘limit price’ the order is triggered and treated as a Market Order.
Take Profit
This type of order is used to realize the profit when the price reaches a certain level. The execution of this Order results in the closing of the whole position. Such Orders can be a market or a pending order.
Under this type of Order, the trading platform checks when the Bid price reaches the Take Profit level for long positions, and when the Ask price reaches it for short positions. For long positions, the order is always set above the current Bid price, and for short positions, the order is always set below the current Ask price. Take Profit Orders can be modified and/or canceled.
Stop Loss
This type of order is used to limit the loss if the price moves in an unfavorable direction. The execution of this Order results in the closing of the whole position. Such Orders can be a market or a pending order.
Under this type of Order, the trading platform checks when the Bid price reaches the Stop Loss level for long positions, and when the Ask price reaches it for short positions.
For long positions, the order is always set above the current Bid price, and for short positions, the order is always set below the current Ask price. Take Profit Orders can be modified and/or canceled.