The Trading Terminal

Before you can place your first trade, you need a few things in place:

1. Trading account — opened with a SEBI-registered stockbroker. This is the account you use to buy and sell securities.
2. Demat account — linked to your trading account and held with a depository participant (NSDL or CDSL). This stores your shares in electronic form.
3. Bank account — linked for transferring funds in and out of your trading account.
4. Login credentials — your broker provides a user ID, password, and usually a second-factor authentication (TOTP or PIN).

The market watch (or watchlist) is the first screen you see after logging in. It displays a list of stocks you are tracking, along with real-time price data.

When you click on a stock and choose to buy or sell, an order form opens. You need to specify the order type, quantity, price, and product type. Here are the main order types:

Market Order

Executes immediately at the best available price. You get speed but no control over the exact execution price. Best used for highly liquid stocks where the spread is minimal.

Limit Order

You set the maximum price you are willing to pay (for a buy) or the minimum price you are willing to accept (for a sell). The order executes only at your price or better. You get price control but the order may not fill if the market does not reach your level.

Stop-Loss Order

A stop-loss order protects you from large losses. It triggers only when the stock reaches a specified price (the trigger price).

• SL-M (Stop-Loss Market) — once the trigger price is hit, a market order is placed. Guarantees execution but not price.
• SL-L (Stop-Loss Limit) — once the trigger price is hit, a limit order is placed at your specified price. Gives price control but may not fill in fast-moving markets.

Other Order Types

The order book shows all the orders you have placed during the current trading day — pending, executed, and rejected. It is your real-time log of trading activity.

The trade book records only the trades that have actually been executed — it is the confirmed transaction log. While the order book shows all orders (including pending and rejected ones), the trade book shows only completed transactions.

• Stock symbol and exchange (NSE or BSE).
• Trade type — buy or sell.
• Quantity of shares traded.
• Execution price — the actual price at which the trade was filled.
• Order ID — links back to the corresponding entry in the order book.
• Timestamp — the exact time the trade was executed.

Every stock has two prices at any given moment — the bid price (what buyers are willing to pay) and the ask price (what sellers are willing to accept). The difference between them is called the spread.

Market depth (also called Level 2 data) shows you the top 5 bid and ask levels for a stock — not just the best price, but the next four levels as well. This tells you how much buying and selling interest exists at different price levels.

The bid side (left) shows pending buy orders at decreasing prices. The ask side (right) shows pending sell orders at increasing prices.

• If the bid side has significantly more quantity, it suggests strong buying interest (demand).
• If the ask side is heavier, it suggests selling pressure (supply).
• A sudden increase in quantity at a specific level may indicate a support or resistance zone.
• Market depth updates in real time as orders are placed, modified, and cancelled.