Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Market Orders (Basic Mechanics)

Depending on the specific strategy or type of trading preferred, foreign exchange traders often rely heavily upon market orders. A market order simply means that a trader wishes to enter a currency position at the present moment, whether it is an order to buy (long) or sell (short) a specific currency pair.

The main functionality that differentiates this type of order from others is the fact that a market order is executed at the current market price, as opposed to a future price level.

Market orders are primarily used by traders who are physically at their trading stations watching the market, waiting for either a specific technical chart setup or a fundamental news announcement. Once one of these trading opportunities presents itself, the trader is then able to establish a virtually instant market position through the use of a well - placed market order.