Order Types Deutsche Börse Xetra

Market order

Market orders are unlimited buy or sell orders that shall be executed at the next price determined.

The probability of execution is highest with Market Orders. Traders use Market Orders when orders need to be executed as quickly as possible.

Limit order

Limit orders are bid/ask orders, which are to be executed at their specified limit or better.

Stop market order

A stop market order is only placed in the order book when the stop limit is reached, and it is then treated as a market order.

If, to buy a share at the current price, a stop market order (also known as a stop buy order) is used, the order is triggered when the price is reached and the share automatically bought at the next possible price. If, to buy a share beneath the current price, a stop market order (also known as a stop loss order) is used, the order is triggered when the price is reached and the share is automatically sold at the next possible price.

There is no guarantee of execution of an order triggered by the stop price.

In the case of rising prices, stop buy orders are an attempt to follow the trend by buying the security.

Traders use stop loss orders to limits losses or securing gains in positions they have taken.

Stop limit order

With a stop limit order, the order is placed in the order book not as a market but rather as a limit order once the stop limit is reached.

If, for example, a stop limit order with a stop limit of 101 and an execution limit of 102 is placed as a buy order, and the 101 price level is reached, a buy order with an execution limit of 102 is automatically placed. If, in the meantime, the price has gone above 102, the limit order is not executed. As such there is no guarantee of execution. The limit order is not executed at the next price determined if in the case of stop buy orders the next price is above the price limit and in the case of stop loss orders below the price limit.

Immediate-or-cancel order

An immediate-or-cancel order (IOC order) is one which has to be executed immediately and fully, or as fully as possible. Non-executed parts of an IOC order are deleted without entry in the order book.

Fill-or-kill order

A fill-or-kill order (FOK order) is one which has to be executed and fully or not at all. If immediate and full execution is not possible, the FOK order is deleted without entry in the order book.

Book-or-cancel order

A book-or-cancel order (BOC order) is one that is entered in the order book if it cannot be executed immediately. If a book-or-cancel order can be executed immediately, the order is rejected.

BOC orders in the order book are deleted at the start of an auction. During the auction, incoming BOC orders are rejected.

A BOC order is intended to ensure the passive execution of the order. This makes the book-or-cancel order particularly meaningful in the case of securities for which, with regard to the explicit transaction costs, passive execution (an order is already in the order book on execution) is preferred to aggressive execution (an order is entered, can be executed immediately and thus drains liquidity from the order book).

Provided that it is not executed beforehand, the trading partner can determine validity restrictions for the entire period the order is listed in the order book.

Good-for-day (GFD)

The order is valid until the close of trading on that particular trading day.

Good-till-date (GTD)

The order is valid until the close of trading on the trading day specified. The date can be at most 359 days in the future (360 days including the date of entry).

Good-till-cancelled (GTC)

The order remains valid until it is executed or cancelled.

By means of trading restrictions, the trading participant can determine the inclusion of the order in all auctions in general or in a specifically selected auction.

Opening auction only (OAO)

The order is only valid in an opening auction.

Closing auction only (CAO)

The order is only valid in a closing auction.

Auction only (AO)

The order is only valid in one auction.

Trailing stop order

A trailing stop order is a stop market order with a variable stop limit.

The stop limit is continuously adjusted on the basis of the reference price in Continuous Trading or the Auction, and the standard quote in the Continuous Auction. Traders use trailing stop orders in order not to have to continually adjust the stop limit themselves. The trading system does this for traders.

Trailing stop limits can be inputted either as an absolute or per cent distance from the corresponding reference price or standard quote. Strict rules apply with regard to the adjustment of the stop limit:

• If, in the case of a sell trailing stop order, the reference price or the bid limit of the standard quote rises, the trading system adapts the stop limit in line with the target. If the reference price or the bid limit of the standard quote falls, the stop limit remains unchanged. If the reference price or the bid limit of the standard quote reaches or falls below the stop limit, the trailing stop order is triggered.
• If, in the case of a buy trailing stop order, the reference price or offer limit of the standard quote falls, the trading system adapts the stop limit in line with the target. If the reference price or the offer limit of the standard quote falls, the stop limit remains unchanged. If the reference price or the offer limit of the standard quote reaches or goes above the stop limit, the trailing stop order is triggered.

One-cancels-other order

A one-cancels-other order is an order that combines a limit order and a stop market order. If the limit order is fully executed or the stop market order is triggered, the respectively other order will be deleted. If the limit order is partially executed, the stop market order will be modified to match the remaining volume of the limit order.

Iceberg order

A trading participant can use an iceberg order to place a large-volume order in the order book without revealing its entire volume.

All that is visible in the order book is the tip of the order as defined by the trader. If this tip is executed in full, a new tip is displayed in the order book.

In an auction, the entire volume of the iceberg order is taken into consideration. Iceberg orders are used in order to avoid large movements in price on account of large volumes.

Quotes in continuous trading and auction

In continuous trading and in the auction, a quote represents the simultaneous input of a limited buy and sell order. Every trading participant can place quotes.

When placing quotes, the trading place’s regulations as regards the maximum spread between the bid and offer limit, as well as the minimum quotation volume must be adhered to. Quotes placed are binding and only ever valid for a single trading day.

Persistent and non-persistent orders

Orders can be entered as persistent or as non-persistent orders. Persistent orders are persisted in a database of T7. This prevents persistent orders from being lost in case of a technical system failure. During the restart after a system failure, T7 re-loads the persistent orders from the database. The priority time stamp of these orders remains unchanged. 

Non-persistent orders are automatically deleted as soon as a trading interruption occurs in the corresponding instrument. From a participant’s point of view non-persistent orders always offer clarity as regards their status in the event of trading interruptions or technical problems.

Lean orders

For orders flag as “lean”, the receipt of status information messages is restricted to the session, through which the order had been entered. Furthermore, only such information messages may be recovered via a retransmission request that is about executions and about events, which were not solicited by the owner of the order. For an order that is not flagged as a lean order, the receipt of status information messages is not restricted to the session, through which the order had been entered, and information messages about all events regarding the order may be recovered via a retransmission request.

T7 does not accept orders that are both lean and persistent. Orders that are entered through a high-frequency session may be persistent or non-persistent.