Immediate or Cancel Order (IOC): Basics, When to Use, Examples (2024)

What Is an Immediate or Cancel Order (IOC)?

An immediate or cancel order (IOC) is an order to buy or sell a security that attempts to execute all or part immediately and then cancels any unfilled portion of the order. An IOC order is one of several "duration," or time in force orders, that investors can use to specify how long the order remains active in the market and under what conditions the order is canceled.

Other commonly used duration order types include fill or kill (FOK), all or none (AON) and good ‘till canceled (GTC). Most online trading platforms allow IOC orders to be placed manually or programmed into automated trading strategies.

Key Takeaways

  • Immediate-or-cancel (IOC) orders attempt to execute immediately and cancel any unfilled portion.
  • IOC orders only require a partial fill, and may be designated as limit or market orders.
  • Investors use IOC orders when markets are volatile to try to fill as much as possible at current market prices.

Basics of an IOC Order

Investors can submit either a “limit” or “market” immediate or cancel order (IOC) depending on their specific execution requirements. An IOC limit order is entered at a specific price, whereas an IOC market order has no price attached and transacts with the best offer price for a buy and best bid price for a sell.

IOC orders differ from other duration orders in that they only require a partial fill, whereas both FOK and AON orders must be filled in their entirety or canceled. GTC orders remain active until either executed in the market or canceled by the client, although most brokers cancel them between 30 and 90 days. IOC orders help investors to limit risk, speed execution and provide price improvement by providing greater flexibility.

When to Use an IOC Order

Investors typically use IOC orders when submitting a large order to avoid having it filled at an array of prices. An IOC order automatically cancels any part of the order that doesn’t fill immediately. Assume, for example, that a client places an IOC order to purchase 5,000 shares of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). Any portion of the 5,000 shares not purchased immediately is automatically canceled. Those who trade several stocks throughout the day may use an IOC order to minimize the risk of forgetting to cancel an order at the close manually.

Real-World Example of an IOC Order

Suppose an investor places an IOC market order to buy 1,000 shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL). Let’s say the order book shows 2,000 shares bid at $170.95 and 500 shares offered at $171.00. The order would immediately fill 500 shares at the offer price ($171) and cancel the unfilled portion of 500 shares.

Let's assume another investor places an IOC limit order to buy 1,000 shares of Apple at $169 around the market open when the stock is currently offered at $170. The S&P 500 drops slightly in the afternoon, at which time a seller offers 700 shares of AAPL at $169. The IOC order, however, would not be filled because it was cancelled immediately after not being filled earlier in the day.

IOC limit orders protect against getting a bad fill in a fast moving or illiquid market. On the other hand, IOC market orders ensure a complete or partial execution in a strongly trending stock that has heavy buying demand.

Immediate or Cancel Order (IOC): Basics, When to Use, Examples (2024)

FAQs

Immediate or Cancel Order (IOC): Basics, When to Use, Examples? ›

An IOC order

order
An order is a set of instructions to a broker to buy or sell an asset on a trader's behalf. There are multiple order types, which will affect at what price the investor buys or sells, when they will buy or sell, or whether their order will be filled or not.
https://www.investopedia.com › terms › order
automatically cancels any part of the order that doesn't fill immediately. Assume, for example, that a client places an IOC order to purchase 5,000 shares of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). Any portion of the 5,000 shares not purchased immediately is automatically canceled.

What is an example of an immediate or cancel order? ›

Example of an IOC

Your order book shows that 2,000 shares are offered for $170.95 and 500 shares are offered for $171.00. The order will immediately fill 500 shares at the offer price ($171) and cancel the unfilled portion of the 500 shares.

What is an immediate or cancel order IOC? ›

An Immediate-Or-Cancel (IOC) order is an order to buy or sell a stock that must be executed immediately. Any portion of an IOC order that cannot be filled immediately will be cancelled.

What is an immediate or cancel limit buy order? ›

An Immediate or Cancel (IOC) Limit Order is a type of limit order that mandates immediate execution of the order, either partially or entirely, upon submission. If the order cannot be filled entirely at the specified price or better, the remaining unfilled portion is automatically canceled.

What does "immediate" or "cancel" mean on MT5? ›

An immediate-or-cancel order (IOC order) is one which has to be executed immediately and fully, or as fully as possible. Non-executed parts of an IOC order are deleted without entry in the order book. Fill-or-kill order. A fill-or-kill order (FOK order) is one which has to be executed and fully or not at all.

What is an example of an IOC order? ›

An IOC order automatically cancels any part of the order that doesn't fill immediately. Assume, for example, that a client places an IOC order to purchase 5,000 shares of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). Any portion of the 5,000 shares not purchased immediately is automatically canceled.

What is an example of Cancelling an order? ›

Hi (Recipient's name), I recently ordered (product name) from you, and I would like to cancel if possible. My order number is (order number), and my details are (including information). Please confirm that you have received this email and that my order has been canceled.

What happens if an order is placed immediate or cancel? ›

An immediate or cancel (IOC) order is a type of order that requires that all or part of the order be executed immediately or canceled. If the order cannot be fully executed immediately, then any portion of the order that cannot be filled will be automatically canceled.

What is the meaning of IOC? ›

8 August 2023. IOC stands for Immediate or Cancel Order in share market trading. It is a type of order in which the trader instructs the broker to execute the order immediately or cancel it if it cannot be fulfilled immediately.

What is IOC in delivery? ›

The IOC (Immediate or Cancelled) allows an investor to buy or sell a share as soon as the order is placed in the market, failing which the order will be removed from the system. It is a duration order and cancels out if it is not executed immediately.

What is an example of a stop order? ›

Stop order example:

The current stock price is $90. You want to protect against a significant decline. You could enter a sell-stop order at $85. If an execution occurs at $85 or lower, your stop order is triggered and a market order is entered to sell at the next available market price.

What is an example of a buy stop limit order? ›

For example, if the current price per share is $60, the trader can set a stop price at $55 and a limit order at $53. The order is activated when the price falls to $55, but not below $53. Below $53, the order will not be fulfilled.

What is a good to cancel limit order? ›

A Good-Til-Cancelled (GTC) order is an order to buy or sell a stock that lasts until the order is completed or canceled.

What is the difference between IOC and day order? ›

The difference between an IOC order and a day order is simple. A day order expires at the end of the trading day if unfulfilled, while an IOC is cancelled as soon as the unavailability of the security is known.

Is IOC a good buy for long term? ›

It said IOC shares are s currently trading at 7 times 2-year forward EV/Ebitda (above +1 SD), even above highly complex US refineries. “We believe a couple of past strong quarterly performances has likely peaked (reflecting in current high valuation).

Why was my stock order cancelled? ›

Your order may be cancelled due to a decision made by the exchange itself (i.e the NASDAQ or NYSE) if their rules determine a limit, stop-loss or stop-buy order has been placed by mistake.

What is an immediate order? ›

What is an immediate order? Known in full as an 'immediate or cancel' (IOC) order, this is a specific type of order given by an investor or broker. The order requires a certain security to be bought or sold immediately. As the name suggests, any part of the order which can't be immediately fulfilled is cancelled.

What is an example of canceling? ›

Verb The event was canceled at the last minute when the speaker didn't show up. We canceled our dinner reservation. My flight was canceled because of the storm.

What is a good till cancelled order example? ›

An order with a good-til-canceled (GTC) time in force keeps the order working until it executes or you cancel it. In this example, it is Monday, June 1 and you want to buy 100 shares of XYZ, which is currently at 127.38 and you want the order to keep working until it fills.

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