Market Mechanics & Terminology

The NSE operates on a strict, synchronized daily timeline from Monday to Friday. Transactions are split into three distinct market phases:

Pre-Market (09:00–09:15): Order entry 09:00–09:08, matching and opening price discovery 09:08–09:12, buffer until 09:15.

Normal session (09:15–15:30): Continuous trading where buy and sell orders match instantly by price-time priority.

Post-Market (15:30–16:00): Closing price calculation 15:30–15:40; delivery-only trades at the fixed closing price until 16:00.

Every listed asset has a unique trading symbol and two-letter series identifier:

• EQ: Regular equity — standard intraday and delivery trades.
• BE (Trade-to-Trade): Mandatory delivery; no intraday squaring-off; 100% upfront capital required.
• BZ: Non-compliant with SEBI listing norms — high operational risk.

The order book shows pending limit orders in two columns: Bids (buyers) and Asks (sellers).

• Bid-ask spread: Gap between best bid and best ask — tight spread = high liquidity.
• Market depth: Top 5 price levels with accumulated quantities.
• Slippage: Fill price worse than expected due to low depth or fast moves.