Trading NYSE Stocks?

[MDX 0601]

I have been paper trading and using Google Finance charts to see what the prices have been going for.

Regarding the NYSE Stocks...will there always be a buyer if I want to sell my stock at a reasonable price?

For example if I bought a stock around 10 am for $180 and once I know my order got filled and its in my account, I put a limit sell order of $181 (around 10:15 am) most likely will my sell order get filled even if the market is going down?- this is for the NYSE stocks...

Thanks.

[Dave M]

Nope. You are not guaranteed a sale unless you put in a "market" sell order. And that means that you agree to sell it for whatever the price is at that moment. If you put in an order to sell at 181, then the quote you read on your computer must be at that amount, and there have to be enough buyers at that price for yours to go through.

So, in your example, if you buy at 180 and then put in a limit order to sell at 181, but the stock is going down below 181, then your stock won't sell until the price goes back up to 181. That might happen in a few minutes or a few years.

This holds true for stocks on any exchange.