Replies to post #4461 on Investor Help (NO Ihub questions)

[cintrix]

The bid is the lower price, the ask is the higher. Theoretically, you buy at the ask and sell at the bid. Of course you can still get executions where you sell something on the ask or buy something at the bid price, but for a guaranteed fill it is technically buying on ask and selling at the bid.

[cintrix]

Here is a more percise explanation:

What is the bid and ask price?
The ask price is what sellers are willing to take for it. If you are selling a stock, you are going to get the bid price, if you are buying a stock you are going to get the ask price. The difference (or "spread") goes to the broker/specialist that handles the transaction.


What is bid and offer in stock market?
The bid price displayed in most quote services is the highest bid price in the market. The ask or offer price on the other hand is the lowest price a seller of a particular stock is willing to sell a share of that given stock. The ask or offer price displayed is the lowest ask/offer price in the market (Stock market).

What is the bid size and ask size?
Bid size is the opposite of ask size. Ask size is the amount of a security that a company is offering to sale. Bid size and ask size are thought to have a relationship which imply that if bid sizes are higher than ask sizes, then there may be a high demand for the stock.


What is the asking price?
In the context of stock trading on a stock exchange, the ask price is the lowest price a seller of a stock is willing to accept for a share of that given stock. For over-the-counter stocks, the asking price is the best quoted price at which a market maker is willing to sell a stock.