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Types of pending orders in XTB
Types of pending orders in XTB

Limit order, Stop order

Anna Niedobova avatar
Written by Anna Niedobova
Updated over a week ago

XTB offers most frequently used pending order types:

a) LIMIT ORDERS

Limit orders are pending orders, which as a principle cannot be executed at a price worse than that specified by the client. XTB offers two types of limit orders: Sell Limit and Buy Limit.

Sell Limit - it is used to sell (open a short position) a given instrument when its price reaches the chosen, higher than the current level (a Sell Limit order may be placed only above the current market price). A Sell Limit order guarantees that it will be executed at the price specified by the client, or better. Such an order may be partially executed if at the price meeting the client's conditions available liquidity is insufficient (see more in Order Book and VWAP sections).

Sell limit orders are executed at the BID price, and positions are closed at the ASK price (BID + spread).

The picture below illustrates a scenario of making profit with a Sell Limit order:

Buy Limit - it is used to buy (open a long position) a given instrument when its price reaches a level lower than the current one (a Buy Limit order can be placed only below the current market price). Buy Limit guarantees that the order will be executed at the price specified by the client, or better. Such an order may be partially executed if there is insufficient liquidity available at the price meeting the client's conditions (see more in the Order Book and VWAP section).

Buy Limit orders are executed at the ASK price (BID + spread), and positions are closed at the BID price.

The picture below illustrates a scenario where a profit is made with a Buy Limit order:

It is worth to note that the Take Profit (TP) orders are Sell Limit or Buy Limit orders, depending on the position type (Sell Limit for Buy positions, Buy Limit for Sell positions), meaning that orders cannot be executed at a price worse than the one specified by the client, but they may be executed partially.

b) STOP ORDERS

Stop orders are pending orders that are executed at the market price. This means that they may be executed at a price worse than the one specified by the client. XTB offers two types of stop orders: Buy Stop and Sell Stop:

Buy Stop – Buy Stop order is used to buy (open a long position) a given instrument when its price reaches the specified, higher than the current level (a Buy Stop order can be placed only above the current market price). This order may be executed at the price specified by the client or at a higher (worse) price, depending on the current market price. Stop orders are always executed in full, according to the liquidity available at a given price (see more in order book and VWAP sections). If the size of the order exceeds the available liquidity, the order is rejected.

Buy Stop orders are executed at ASK price (BID + spread), and closed at BID price.

The picture below illustrates the scenario of making profit with a Buy Stop order:

Sell Stop orders are used to sell (open a short position) an instrument when its price reaches a chosen, lower than the current level (a Sell Stop order can be placed only below the current market price). This order may be executed at the price specified by the client or at a lower (worse) price, depending on the current market price. Stop orders are always executed in full, based on the liquidity available at the given price (see more in Order Book and VWAP sections). In case of exceeding the available liquidity, the order is rejected.

Sell stop orders are executed at the BID price, and positions are closed at the ASK price (BID + spread).

The image below illustrates the scenario of making profit with a Sell Stop order:

It is worth to note that the Stop Loss (SL) orders are Buy Stop or Sell Stop orders, depending on the position direction (Buy Stop for Sell positions, Sell Stop for Buy positions), which means that they can be executed at a price lower than the one specified by the client and they cannot be executed partially (in the event of exceeding the available liquidity, the Stop Loss order is rejected and then restored with the parameters specified by the client and executed at the first available market price after the activation condition is met).

Stop Out - Stop Out orders work on the same principle as Stop Loss orders. What makes them different is the fact that they are applied automatically to each client's position when the Margin Level on the account falls to a specified value. Due to the broad offer of XTB, the level of activation of the Stop Out order may vary depending on the legal jurisdiction of a given country; therefore, it should always be verified in accordance with the current terms and conditions accessible at the company's website.

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