Order types

Market order
An instruction to buy or sell now at the best available price. It prioritises speed over exact price and usually fills quickly during regular market hours. In fast or thin markets, the executed price can differ from the last quote you saw.

Limit order
You set the maximum price you will pay to buy, or the minimum price you will accept to sell.

• Buy limit: executes at your limit price or lower; if the market is above your limit, the order stays pending.

• Sell limit: executes at your limit price or higher; if the market is below your limit, the order stays pending.
  Limit orders give price control but may take longer to fill or may not fill at all.

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Stop loss
An order that turns into a market order once a chosen stop price is reached.

• For an existing long position, a sell stop triggers when the price falls to your stop level.

• For a buy stop (less common for retail), it triggers when the price rises to your stop level.
  Once triggered, it executes at the next available price, which can be different from the stop level in fast markets.