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Because of this, active traders in particular may want to pay attention to the bid-ask spread. For example, if a stock price has a bid price of $100 and an ask price of $100.05, the bid-ask spread ...
The bid–ask spread (also bid–offer or bid/ask and buy/sell in the case of a market maker) is the difference between the prices quoted (either by a single market maker or in a limit order book) for an immediate sale and an immediate purchase for stocks, futures contracts, options, or currency pairs in some auction scenario.
Level 2 data displays the best bid and ask prices (also known as "top-of-book") for each market participant in a given security. In other words, at a given time there may be several market makers participating in trade matching for a specific stock. Level 2 data will display the highest bid and lowest ask for each individual market maker.
For example, if a stock is asked for $86.41 (large size), a buy order with a limit of $90 can be filled right away. Similarly, if a stock is bid $86.40, a sell order with a limit of $80 will be filled right away. A limit order may be partially filled from the book and the rest added to the book.
Since buying and selling stock is a key component of investing, it’s important for investors to understand trading terminology — especially the term "bid-ask spread."
Ask price, also called offer price, offer, asking price, or simply ask, is the price a seller states they will accept. [1] The seller may qualify the stated asking price as firm or negotiable. Firm means the seller is implying that the price is fixed and will not change. In bid and ask, the term ask price is used in contrast to the term bid price.
An example of a price mechanism uses announced bid and ask prices. Generally speaking, when two parties wish to engage in trade, the purchaser will announce a price he is willing to pay (the bid price) and the seller will announce a price he is willing to accept (the ask price).
In securities trading, an order book contains the list of buy orders and the list of sell orders. For each entry it must keep among others, some means of identifying the party (even if this identification is obscured, as in a dark pool), the number of securities and the price that the buyer or seller are bidding/asking for the particular security.