Immediate or Cancel (IOC)
An Immediate or Cancel (IOC) order is a type of trading order that requires all or part of the order to be executed immediately. Any portion of the order that cannot be filled instantly is canceled. IOC orders are often used by traders who want to take advantage of favorable market conditions but do not want their orders to linger in the market. They provide flexibility by allowing partial fills while ensuring the remaining unfilled portion is promptly canceled.
Example
A trader places an IOC order to buy 1,000 shares of a stock at $50. If only 700 shares are available at that price, the order will fill 700 shares, and the remaining 300 will be canceled.
Key points
• Requires immediate execution of all or part of the order.
• Any unfilled portion is canceled if not executed instantly.
• Used by traders to capitalize on current market conditions without lingering orders.