Trading & Markets
Market Order
An order that executes immediately at the best available price. Certain to fill, not certain what it will cost in fast markets.
In plain English
Market orders cross the spread and take whatever liquidity is resting, filling instantly at one or more price levels. Speed is the point; slippage is the price, and it grows with order size and volatility.
In futures prop trading, market orders are standard for stop-loss execution (stops trigger as market orders) and for entries where missing the move costs more than a tick of slippage. On thin products or during news, the same order can fill surprisingly far from the quote.
- A trader market-buys 2 NQ during a fast breakout.
- Quoted 18000.25, filled 18001.00: three ticks of slippage as the book thins.