Singapore Exchange (SGX) will be enhancing the types of orders for the stock market from 31 March 2014.
This is a good catch-up by SGX as some of these orders are already commonly available on the exchanges of other more developed markets.
The enhancements will offer investors more flexibility and convenience in their trading. The changes are:
(1) Making market orders and market-to-limit orders available throughout trading session
Market orders are buy or sell orders which are executed immediately at current market prices.
Market-to-limit orders ensure execution for at least a portion of the order while avoiding the risk of getting the order fully filled at the price that is too far away from the last-traded price for the remaining portion of the order.
Previously these order types were only available during the market opening and closing routines.
(2) Introducing price triggered orders (stop orders and if-touched orders)
Price triggered orders are instructions which will be converted into actual orders in the order book once the target price is reached.
Stop orders are typically used to minimise a loss or protect a profit on an existing long or short position.
If-touched orders provide investors with flexibility to buy and sell at specific price levels without having to constantly monitor market movements.
Investors can learn more about the complete range of order types and the risks involved at this link : SGX order types.
