A market order is an order to execute a trade (buy or sell) immediately at whatever the current market price.
If an investor places a market order after hours, for instance, the order will be filled at the market’s open wherever the price of the security is.
Placing a market order, also known as an “unrestricted order,” means the person trading the security is more concerned with timely execution of the trade than they are the actual price. If a market order is placed for a security that has very high volumes and is a common stock, the market order is likely to be filled right away.
What is a Market-on-Close order?
What is a Market-With-Protection order?