Limit orders are a dandy new invention for HSX. (New to V2 anyway). They let you make trades while you are not at your computer. Here’s how they work, courtesy of my pal Aaron Janis:
Here’s how your broker checks to see if it should take a stop order and place it as a market order (i.e., execute it):
- 1. “Buy” orders are triggered if the current price is at or lower than the stop price
- 2. “Sell” orders are triggered if the current price is at or higher than the stop price
- 3. “Short” orders are triggered if the current price is at or higher than the stop price
- 4. “Cover” orders are triggered if the current price is at or lower than the stop price
To place an order, go to the “Broker” link from your portfolio (just below the “My Portfolio” link. Let’s simulate a buy order. You think that…um…BATER is overpriced, but if it dropped to $15 you’d buy it. So, let’s place a limit order to max long at $15.
To place an order, go to the “Broker” link from your portfolio (just below the “My Portfolio” link. Let’s simulate a buy order. You think that…um…BATER is overpriced, but if it dropped to $15 you’d buy it. So, let’s place a limit order to max long at $15.
To place an order, go to the “Broker” link from your portfolio (just below the “My Portfolio” link. Let’s simulate a buy order. You think that…um…BATER is overpriced, but if it dropped to $15 you’d buy it. So, let’s place a limit order to max long at $15.
To place an order, go to the “Broker” link from your portfolio (just below the “My Portfolio” link. Let’s simulate a buy order. You think that…um…BATER is overpriced, but if it dropped to $15 you’d buy it. So, let’s place a limit order to max long at $15.
- -> First, put BATER in for the symbol.
- -> Next, fill in the quantity you want to buy. We’ll max, so put in 50000.
- -> The drop down action defaults to “Buy” so you don’t need to change that in this case.
- -> Now, here’s the most important part, the price. Our price is $15. So enter that (without the dollar sign, I’m not sure if that matters). Then you have three options for when the order will expire. A day, week or month. Choose whatever will suit your needs. (This comes in handy if you go on vacation or something and can set your orders well in advance.)
- -> Hit “Place Order” and you should get a page almost identical to a normal buy/sell page asking for comfirmation. Hit “Confirm” (or “Cancel” if you’d like.)
If you confirmed the order, you can check on its status in your account history. The link is right under the “Broker” link. Near the bottom you will (should) see your stop order. (Any orders that you cancel, or expire will go into the “Dead Orders” table.)
A couple of very important when dealing with stop orders. They tie up your money just like any buy or short transaction. (Covers and sells won’t since you already have the shares in your port.) So your port might say that you have cash on hand, but it is tied up in the stop order. You won’t be able to spend this money. To do so, you’ll have to cancel the order. Also, since a pending order is the same as already having it bought/shorted (kinda) you have to cancel the order if you want to do anything with the stock. For example, you see that BATER has hit $15.10. Close enough for you. You try and buy it. You will get a message saying that you already own shares. You rant and rave screaming, “No I don’t!” Then you remember the stop order. You go to your account history. Cancel the order and you should be ok to buy it now.
Off with their hot pants!
Jimmy Impossible
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