Market orders are the most straight forward way to buy and sell shares. They are aptly named because, just like in a market, you're buying and selling shares in real time (or when the markets next open). Unlike limit orders, you don't pick the price you're willing to buy or sell shares for.
Market orders are completed as soon as possible at the best available share price
What does that mean? If you're in Hatch and you look at a company (say, Lululemon) you'll see the current share price, which at time of writing is $308.53 USD per share.
The share price changes every time an order is placed, so the price you see when you place the order (e.g. $308.53) that price is just an estimate. When you place a market order to buy or sell shares, your order will be matched to best available opposite order to give you the best price. This is all done in real time, and the shares are traded a lot, so the share price usually doesn't change that much from the estimate you see in Hatch (especially in the case of the US share markets, if they are open).
Placing market orders when the markets are closed
When you place a market order while the markets are closed, it will be completed at the opening share price. Since off-hours trading and demand for shares can change overnight, the price may change a bit by the time the markets open. Sometimes it might only be a few cents, but it can change more if a major overnight event has a big impact on demand for the shares.
💡 Note: If you want to make sure you only buy shares for a price you specify, you might be interested in limit orders.
Maximum order limit to single buy and sell orders
There are some restrictions on the orders that you place through Hatch. Our broker DriveWealth has internal monitors that flag large orders to reduce the risk imposed by accidental or corrupt trading. Because of this, if you place a buy order for more than 20,000 shares or a sell order for more than 50,000 shares, the order will be cancelled. In addition, a single buy or sell order will be cancelled if it exceeds US$1.5 million.
If you wish to buy more than 20,000 shares or sell more than 50,000 shares, you will need to place more than one order (additional orders can only be placed after the initial order has been filled). Similarly, if you are placing a dollar amount buy or sell order that exceeds $1.5 million USD, you will also need to place more than one order.