NYSE Arca Equities

Opening Auctions | Closing Auctions | Daily Price   

At 4:00 a.m. ET, Limit Orders designated for the Opening Session are matched and executed in the Opening Auction. NYSE Arca will accept orders for the Opening Auction beginning at 3:30 a.m. ET, and will continue accepting orders until the Opening Auction is conducted. Only limit orders that are eligible for the Opening Session will participate in the Opening Auction. Orders that participate in the Opening Auction cannot be canceled between 3:59 a.m. ET and the conclusion of the Opening Auction.

The Opening Auction will occur at the Indicative Match Price — the price at which the maximum volume of orders is executable at the time of the auction. If two or more prices can maximize executable volume, the Opening Auction occurs at the price closest to the previous closing price. NYSE Arca uses the maximum size of both sides and displays the worst price at the larger aggregate size. Unexecuted orders become eligible for the Opening Session immediately upon conclusion of the Opening Auction.

Example:
#1 Book at 4:00 ET: Last Sale 18.50

Result: no match. The buy order (3000 @ 18.00) and sell orders (5000 @ 19.99, 2000 @ 20.00) do not overlap.

#2 Book at 4:00 ET: Last Sale 18.50

Result: all orders executed at 19.00.

Market Order Auction

The Market Order Auction serves as a bridge between the Opening Session and the Core Trading Session. The execution of the Market Order Auction is the first trade of the Core Trading Session.

Limit orders (eligible for either the Opening Session and/or Core Trading Session), market orders and auction-only limit orders will participate in the auction. With the exception of limit orders that are eligible for the Opening Session, orders that participate in the Market Order Auction cannot be canceled between 9:29 a.m. ET and the conclusion of the Market Order Auction. This restriction does not apply to Opening Session-eligible limit orders, because these orders will be accessible in NYSE Arca during continuous trading between 9:29 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. ET. Core Trading Session-only limit orders, however, cannot be cancelled between 9:29 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

Market orders and auction-only limit orders that would participate on the same side as a market order imbalance cannot be entered into the Market Order Auction between 9:29 a.m. ET and the conclusion of the auction. For example, if the aggregate volume of market sell orders in the Market Order Auction is 30,000, and the aggregate volume of buy orders (including market and limit orders) is 25,000 shares, a market order imbalance on the sell side exists — so NYSE Arca will not accept market or auction-only limit orders to sell between 9:29 a.m. ET and the conclusion of the Market Order Auction. As with the Opening Auction, NYSE Arca will calculate and continually disseminate the indicative match price, the indicative match volume and the auction imbalance. At 9:30 a.m. ET, the Market Order Auction will execute at a single price and all unexecuted orders will be released into the Core Trading Session.

The match price is the price that maximizes the volume that can be executed. The Market Order Auction will use the match price closest to the closing price of the previous trading day (based on normal market hours) if more than one indicative match price is valid. Imbalances and indicative match prices in the Market Order Auction reflect market orders only. In the following examples, the limit orders are "auction only" limit orders.

#1 9:30 a.m. ET: Previous close of 17

*Limit orders designated as auction only orders.
Result: all orders executed at 18.00.

#2 9:30 a.m. ET: First NBBO disseminated is $15.00 - $15.10