What are sell stop, buy stop, sell limit, and buy limit orders?
An order in trading is an instruction to buy or sell a financial asset at a specific price. There are different types of orders to help traders manage their trades:
Sell stop order: This order is placed when a trader wants to sell (or go short) below the current market price. It is executed as soon as the bid price is equal to or lower than the specified stop price.
Buy stop order: This order is placed when a trader wants to buy (or go long) above the current market price. It activates when the ask price reaches or exceeds the specified stop price.
Sell limit order: This order is placed when a trader wants to sell (or go short) above the current market price. It executes if the bid price rises to or above the specified sell limit price.
Buy limit order: This order is placed when a trader wants to buy (or go long) below the current market price. It executes when the ask price drops to or below the specified buy limit price.
Buy stop limit order (MT5 only): This order is placed when a trader wants to buy (or go long) above the current market price, but only at a specific price or better. It is activated when the ask price reaches or exceeds the specified stop price, but it will only execute if the market can fill the order at the limit price or lower. This provides more control over entry price but carries the risk of non-execution if the market price moves too quickly.
Sell stop limit order (MT5 only): This order is placed when a trader wants to sell (or go short) below the current market price, but only at a specific price or better. It becomes active when the bid price falls to or below the stop price, but the order will only execute if it can be filled at the limit price or higher. This helps limit slippage but may result in the order not being filled during fast market conditions.