What is a Sell Stop Order?

A Sell Stop Order is an order to sell a stock once the price of the stock drops to a specified price, known as the Stop Price. When the specified price is reached, your Sell Stop Order will be sold at market price.

This is an enhanced trading feature to help you minimize potential losses or protect unrealized gains of your stock holdings.

In order to place a Sell Stop Order, you can use our Sell Stop-Limit Order function by setting the limit price to a relatively low price.

What is a Sell Stop-Limit Order?

A Sell Stop-Limit Order is an order to sell a stock once the Stop Price is reached. When triggered, your Sell Stop-Limited Order will be sold at the market price but not lower than the Limit Price.

Stop Price is a price below the market price at the time you enter the Sell Stop-Limit Order. Your order will be activated when the Stop Price has been reached or passed. However, even if the Sell Stop-Limit Order is triggered, the execution is not guaranteed, but if executed, the price will be equaled or better than the Limit Price.

Limit Price must be lower than the Stop Price. It is the lowest price you are willing to sell the stock. Your order will not be executed at a price below the Limit Price. This is likely to occur in a fast moving market.

Your Sell Stop-Limit Order must abide by the following rule:

Example 1 of Sell Stop-Limit Order

You are holding a stock currently trading at $20. You want to sell this stock if price falls to $15, and you do not want to sell the stock for less than $10.

To achieve this, you can enter a Sell Stop-Limit Order for this stock. You need to set the Stop Price at $15; your order will be activated when the price reaches or goes below $15. You also need to set the Limit Price for sell at $10. Your order will be executed at or better than $10 until your order is fully filled or the price goes below $10. (See diagram below)

Then, when the market price is falling:

Example 2 of Sell Stop-Limit Order

When you set the Limit Price too close to the Stop Price:

Following the example 1 above, if you set the Limit Price for sell at $14.95, your order may be queued with other Limit Orders at $14.95 and your order might not be filled.

Points to Note

Sell Stop-Limit Order Features and Constraints

1. The Stop Price must be lower than the Market Price. The Limit Price must be lower than the Stop price and cannot be lower than $0.01. Based on this arrangement, we do not accept any Sell Stop-Limit Order if the current Market Price of such stock is lower than $0.01.
2. Depending on the market conditions, even when triggered, your Sell Stop-Limit Order may never be executed if the market price surpasses your Limit Price before your order can be filled.
3. Once the Sell Stop-Limit Order is triggered, it is possible that the order is filled at a price above the Stop Price if the market bounces back quickly. However, if the order is executed, the price will be equal or higher than the Limit Price.
4. Your Sell Stop-Limit Order will be valid until it is triggered or expired (on the Good Till Date). Once the Stop Price is triggered, any unfilled quantity of the Sell Stop-Limit Order will be expired at the close of the trading date.
5. Your Sell Stop-Limit Order will be cancelled when (1) the stock is suspended for trading, or (2) the stock price is adjusted significantly due to corporate actions.
6. Amendment of Sell Stop-Limit Order is not allowed. If you want to modify a Sell Stop-Limit Order, you must cancel it first and then setup another order.
7. The Sell Stop-Limit Order is only applicable to stocks traded in NYSE MKT, NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX & United Kingdom markets with reasonable liquidity.
8. Features of Sell Stop-Limit Order applicable to Hong Kong Market only:
   1. Odd lot quantity Sell Stop-Limit Order for Hong Kong Market is not acceptable.
   2. Your Sell Stop-Limit Order may be triggered in the Pre-opening Session, but will only be executed in the Continuous Trading Session.
9. Features of Sell Stop-Limit Order applicable to US Market only:
   1. Your Sell Stop-Limit Order will be triggered if either the last traded price, or best bid price, or best offer price (depends on the practices of the stock exchanges or market specialist that executed the trades of the relevant stock) reaches or drop below your Stop Price.
   2. Your Sell Stop-Limit Order will only be triggered or executed during the core trading hours.
10. Upon submission of a Sell Stop-Limit Order, you will be deemed to have accepted the terms and conditions and understood and accepted all of the features and constraints of this service.

Sell Stop-Limit Order Terms and Conditions

1. We are authorized but not obliged to accept a Sell Stop-Limit Order input by the Client. If we do not accept a Sell Stop-Limit Order it will advise the Client promptly.
2. We will try its best to process a Sell Stop-Limit Order but it may NOT be performed due to fluctuation in stock price, insufficient market liquidity, system failure and any event beyond our control. The order may be fully executed, partially executed or even unexecuted.
3. We shall not be obliged to act on any instruction for cancellation, variation or amendment of a Sell Stop-Limit Order already given to us nor be responsible or liable to the Client for any loss or expense suffered or incurred by the Client if the original Sell Stop-Limit Order has already been completed or in our opinion, we has insufficient time or is unable to act on such instruction to cancel, vary or amend the original Sell Stop-Limit Order.
4. Any Sell Stop-Limit Order if not triggered on any Trading Day will be carried over to the next Trading Day until it is triggered or it is expired on the Good Till Date. Once it is triggered on a Trading Day but either not executed at all or only partially executed, it will then lapse at the end of that Trading Day even if it has not then expired.
5. Any Sell Stop-Limit Order that is triggered may be executed in full or in part at any price between the Stop Price and the Limit Price. It will not be executed at a price below the Limit Price. If it is not executed at all or in full between the Stop Price and the Limit Price and the market price then rises above the Stop Price, the Sell Stop-Limit Order may be executed in full or in part at the then market price being a price higher than the Stop Price.
6. We shall not be liable for any loss, damage or expense or consequential loss, damage or expense suffered by the Client by virtue of any delay or any partial execution or any failure by us to execute a Sell Stop-Limit Order or any execution above the Stop Price for any reason whatsoever including without limitation any failure or error of any computer or electronic systems or equipment.