Imbalance of Orders

Imbalance of orders

Used for listed equity securities. Too many market orders of one kind-buy or to sell or limit orders to buy up or sell down, without matching orders of the opposite kind. An imbalance usually follows a dramatic event such as a takeover, research recommendation, or death of a key executive, or a government ruling that will significantly affect the company's business. If it occurs before the stock exchange opens, trading in the stock is delayed. If it occurs during the trading day, the specialist halts and then suspends trading (with floor governor's approval) until enough matching orders can be found to make an orderly market.

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imbalance of orders

See order imbalance.

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Imbalance of Orders

The excess of buy orders or sell orders for a given security. That is, an imbalance of orders occurs when more brokers or investors have made more orders of one type such that they cannot be matched to orders of the opposite type. Order imbalance in either direction reduces the liquidity of a security and thus specialists and market makers attempt to keep imbalance at the lowest possible level. Extreme order imbalance may result in the temporary suspension of trade.