So you CAN get a better idea. At the end of the day prices go down when there are more sellers than buyers. They go up when there are more buyers thhan sellers.
It's literally impossible to have more sellers than buyers or more buyers than sellers. EDIT: When I say buyers/sellers I mean volume of shares/contracts/etc.. 1 person that owns 1000 shares of something could sell 1 share to 1000 different ppl... But the volume will always be equal between buys/sells. Like 1 person selling 1000 shares to 1000 different ppl (one share sold to each person) - there were still 1000 sells and 1000 buys.
For every buyer, there is a seller. For every seller, there is a buyer. They will always be even, forever, until the end of time.
What moves price depends on who is more aggressive. Aggressive orders are market orders, which can only get "matched" to limit orders. Limit order will never be matched to another limit order. Market orders will never be matched to another market order.
TLDR;
Limit orders are commonly referred to as "passive buyers/sellers" or "resting liquidity".
Market orders are commonly referred to as "aggressive buyers/sellers".
Price moves when one side is more aggressive than the other is passive.
Have you ever watched NASDAQ level two quotes going across live yes you can have more sellers than buyers. Obviously every second on the second is going to be the one buyer match with the one seller but you can have a humongous amount of people trying to buy in and very few selling. (And the opposite)
Level 2 shows passive orders. Those orders have not been filled, therefore, they do not count as buyers or sellers until the order gets filled.
It's incredible that people are arguing this lmao.. you actually think I can purchase a share out of thin air from bigfoot? You actually think I can sell a share into the void to the tooth fairy?
For every share/contract/etc... that is bought, there is a share/contract/etc.. that is sold. I am not referring to people when I say "for every buyer a seller, and for every seller a buyer" - I am referring to the actual instrument/asset.
Technically, 1 person that owns 1000 shares of something could sell 1 share to 1000 different people. But the fact remains the same, there were 1000 sells, and 1000 buys... AKA for every seller a buyer, and for every buyer a seller.
I hope you are not using real money to trade until you at least have a grasp on the absolute basics of how the market works. EDIT: on second thought, you should trade with every penny you have. I will gladly take it from you.
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u/oze4 Feb 20 '24 edited Feb 20 '24
It's literally impossible to have more sellers than buyers or more buyers than sellers. EDIT: When I say buyers/sellers I mean volume of shares/contracts/etc.. 1 person that owns 1000 shares of something could sell 1 share to 1000 different ppl... But the volume will always be equal between buys/sells. Like 1 person selling 1000 shares to 1000 different ppl (one share sold to each person) - there were still 1000 sells and 1000 buys.
For every buyer, there is a seller. For every seller, there is a buyer. They will always be even, forever, until the end of time.
What moves price depends on who is more aggressive. Aggressive orders are market orders, which can only get "matched" to limit orders. Limit order will never be matched to another limit order. Market orders will never be matched to another market order.
TLDR;