Stock Market Today

ECNs

If the thought of your broker making money off

the bid/ask spread makes you less than thrilled, you should be aware that there are alternatives for trading, such as Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs). Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs) represent orders in Nasdaq stocks; they internally match buy and sell orders or represent the highest bid prices and lowest ask prices on the open market. The benefits you get from trading with an ECN include after-hours trading, avoiding market makers (and their spreads), and anonymity (which is often important for large trades)

Online Trading

You might also want to try trading online. Although trading online does not eliminate the role of market makers and specialists, it can provide you with many other conveniences, such as the ability to trade from your desk at work or at home. You should be aware, however, that online trading is not instantaneous, so you still might find yourself wanting to use limit orders instead of market orders. If there is a computer glitch and you are not sure that the order went through, try to contact your broker or issue a cancellation before re-submitting the order. You don’t want to end up owning twice as much stock as you had originally planned on buying.