If you're trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) using a mobile or online trading app (like AIB DigiTrader), you've likely seen the Market Depth screen. It's that table showing Buy (Bid) and Sell (Ask) orders at various price levels — a critical tool for any smart investor.
But what do these columns really mean? How do orders get matched? What happens if your order doesn't get executed?
This article explains the Market Depth screen, order types
✅ What Is Market Depth?
Market depth shows you real-time buy and sell orders for a stock on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). It's a live price board where traders can see who is buying, who is selling, at what price, and how many shares are available.
💡 Simple Analogy:
Imagine you're at Gikomba Market. Buyers are shouting what they’re willing to pay for shoes, and sellers are shouting what they’re willing to sell for. The market depth board is like a scoreboard showing all these offers before deals are made.
📥 Buy Side (Bid/Demand Orders)
- Shows what price traders are willing to pay for shares
- Displays how many shares they want to buy
📤 Sell Side (Ask/Supply Orders)
- Shows what price sellers are asking for their shares
- Displays how many shares they want to sell
🧾 Market Depth Table Layout
Below is a typical view of market depth — bids (buyers) on the left and asks (sellers) on the right.
📊 NSE Market Depth – Real-Time Demand & Supply View
The table below shows how market depth is organized on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE):
- 📥 Left side: Buyers placing Bid (Buy) orders
- 📤 Right side: Sellers placing Ask (Sell) orders
This lets you see price pressure from both sides before placing your own order.
📊 Market Depth View – Bid (Left) vs Ask (Right)
Here’s a simple visual representation of how buy and sell orders are listed on the NSE order book.
📥 Bid (Buy Orders) | 📤 Ask (Sell Orders) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Bid Price (KES) | Bid Quantity | Ask Price (KES) | Ask Quantity |
19.45 | 1,200 | 19.50 | 1,000 |
19.40 | 1,000 | 19.55 | 800 |
19.35 | 1,500 | 19.60 | 2,000 |
🧠 How to Read This Table:
- The highest bid is 19.45 — that’s the most a buyer is willing to pay now.
- The lowest ask is 19.50 — that’s the cheapest offer from a seller.
- No trade happens until a buyer agrees to pay 19.50 or a seller agrees to sell at 19.45.
🎯 Why Market Depth Matters
- Helps you see price pressure — more bids may mean price will rise.
- Lets you place orders smarter — match existing demand/supply levels.
- Reveals gaps between what people want to buy vs sell — this is called the spread.
🔁 Simple Analogy
Imagine 3 buyers in a fruit market offering:
- KES 50 for 10 mangoes
- KES 48 for 15 mangoes
- KES 45 for 20 mangoes
- KES 52 for 12 mangoes
- KES 53 for 10 mangoes
- KES 55 for 15 mangoes
✅ Use the market depth screen before placing your order. It helps you avoid overpaying or underselling — and ensures your trade has a higher chance of being executed.
🧠 Order Matching Logic on the NSE (Explained Simply)
At the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), when you place an order to buy or sell shares, it doesn’t just go through instantly. It follows a matching engine that pairs buyers with sellers based on specific rules.
🔄 The NSE uses a Price-Time Priority system:
- Better prices get matched first
- If the prices are the same, the order that came in first gets matched before newer ones — this is called FIFO (First In, First Out)
📘 Simple Analogy: Buying Maize at a Market
Imagine you're at a market trying to buy 10 bags of maize.
Sellers are shouting their prices:
- Seller A: "I'm selling at KES 50!"
- Seller B: "I want KES 52!"
You say: "I’ll buy 10 bags at market price!"
The system will:
- Take Seller A’s 5 bags at 50
- Then Seller B’s 5 bags at 52
✅ You’ll buy from cheapest sellers first, just like how the stock market prioritizes lowest ask prices.
📈 How Orders Are Matched (Market Buy Side)
✅ Rule 1: Buy orders match with the lowest Ask (Sell) price available.
🔁 Example 1 – Market Order to Buy
You're placing a Market Order to Buy 1,500 shares. You don’t set a price — you want the best available deal immediately.
Market Depth Snapshot:
Bid Price (Buy) | Bid Qty | Ask Price (Sell) | Ask Qty |
---|---|---|---|
10.45 | 500 | 10.50 | 1,000 |
10.40 | 1,000 | 10.55 | 800 |
10.35 | 2,000 | 10.60 | 2,000 |
Your order matches:
- ✅ 1,000 shares at KES 10.50 (lowest ask)
- ✅ 500 shares at KES 10.55 (next lowest)
📉 How Orders Are Matched (Market Sell Side)
✅ Rule 2: Sell orders match with the highest Bid (Buy) price available.
🔁 Example 2 – Market Order to Sell 1,200 Shares
Market Depth Snapshot:
Bid Price (Buy) | Bid Qty | Ask Price (Sell) | Ask Qty |
---|---|---|---|
10.55 | 600 | 10.50 | 1,000 |
10.50 | 1,000 | 10.55 | 800 |
10.45 | 1,500 | 10.60 | 2,000 |
Your Market Sell Order:
- ✅ 600 shares matched at 10.55 (highest bid)
- ✅ 600 shares matched at 10.50 (next highest)
📋 What If There's Not Enough Quantity?
If the number of shares you want to buy or sell is more than what's available at the top prices:
- Market Orders will continue matching down (if buying) or up (if selling) through the list of prices.
- If quantity is still not available, the order might be partially filled and the rest cancelled.
📉 How Orders Are Matched (Limit Sell Side)
🔁 Example 3 – Limit Order (Sell): "Hold Until You Get Your Price"
You want to sell 2,000 shares, but only if you get KES 10.60 or more. So, you place a Sell Limit Order:
🎯 Your Order: Sell 2,000 shares at KES 10.60
📉 Market Depth (Buy Side)
🟩 Bid Price (Buy) | Bid Quantity |
---|---|
10.55 | 800 |
10.50 | 1,000 |
10.45 | 500 |
📌 None of the buyers are currently bidding KES 10.60. The highest bid is KES 10.55.
❌ Result: Your order does NOT execute immediately.
✅ It will sit in the Ask side of the Market Depth until a buyer agrees to pay KES 10.60 or higher.
📈 How Orders Are Matched (Limit Buy Side)
🔁 Example 4 – Limit Order (Buy): "Don’t Overpay – Wait for a Deal"
You want to buy shares, but you're not willing to pay the current market price.
🎯 Your Order: Buy 1,500 shares at KES 10.45
📈 Market Depth (Sell Side)
🟥 Ask Price (Sell) | Ask Quantity |
---|---|
10.50 | 1,000 |
10.55 | 1,000 |
10.60 | 2,000 |
📌 The lowest seller is offering shares at KES 10.50.
❌ Result: Your Buy Limit Order won’t execute, because you’re offering less than what sellers are asking.
✅ It will appear in the Market Depth on the Bid Side, waiting for a seller to accept KES 10.45 or lower.
📌 Summary of Orders
Order Type | Price Set? | Executes Immediately? | Sits in Market Depth? |
---|---|---|---|
Market Order | ❌ No – Takes best price | ✅ Yes, instantly | ❌ No |
Limit Order | ✅ Yes – You decide price | ❌ Not unless price matches | ✅ Yes |
📘 Understanding Market-to-Limit (MTL) Orders on the NSE
A Market-to-Limit (MTL) order is a hybrid between a Market Order and a Limit Order. It gives you the speed of a market order — but also sets a price limit after the first match.
🧠 How It Works
- It starts by trying to match the best available price like a market order.
- If only part of your order gets filled, the rest becomes a Limit Order at that matched price.
🔁 Example 1 – Market-to-Limit Buy Order
You want to buy 2,000 shares using an MTL Buy Order.
📊 Market Depth Snapshot (Sell Side):
Ask Price (KES) | Ask Quantity |
---|---|
10.50 | 1,200 |
10.55 | 800 |
10.60 | 2,000 |
Action: You place an MTL Buy for 2,000 shares.
- ✅ 1,200 shares are bought instantly at 10.50
- ✅ The remaining 800 shares are placed as a Limit Buy at 10.50
Analogy: You're buying 2 bags of maize at the market. Seller A has 1 bag for KES 1,050. You buy it and leave a standing offer to buy the second one at the same price when more comes in.
🔁 Example 2 – Market-to-Limit Sell Order
You want to sell 1,500 shares using an MTL Sell Order.
📊 Market Depth Snapshot (Buy Side):
Bid Price (KES) | Bid Quantity |
---|---|
10.45 | 1,000 |
10.40 | 300 |
10.35 | 500 |
Action: You place an MTL Sell for 1,500 shares.
- ✅ 1,000 shares are sold instantly at 10.45
- ✅ The remaining 500 shares are placed as a Limit Sell at 10.45
Analogy: You're selling 15 trays of eggs. A buyer wants 10 trays at KES 1,045. You sell them immediately and wait to sell the remaining 5 trays at the same price.
📋 Summary: When to Use Market-to-Limit
Order Type | Executes Immediately? | Leaves Unmatched Portion? | Price Protection? |
---|---|---|---|
Market Order | ✅ Yes (fully) | ❌ No | ❌ No (takes all prices) |
Limit Order | ❌ Only if price matched | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (your set price) |
Market-to-Limit | ✅ Partial match | ✅ Remainder as Limit | ✅ Yes (at top price only) |
💡 Final Tip
Use Market-to-Limit Orders when you want speed — but don’t want to pay bad prices. It's great for lightly traded shares where liquidity is tight and prices jump fast.
Always review Market Depth before placing any Market, Limit, or MTL order on the NSE.
📉 NSE 10% Daily Price Limit Rule – Explained with Examples
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has a protective rule that restricts how much a stock can rise or fall in a single trading day. This rule is called the 10% Daily Price Limit.
🔒 What Does It Mean?
A stock’s price can only move up or down by a maximum of ±10% from its previous day’s closing price.
🧠 Example:
- Previous Day’s Closing Price: KES 10.00
- Today's Price Range Allowed: KES 9.00 – KES 11.00
✅ This means you cannot place any order outside that range. If you try to place a buy order at 11.10 or a sell order at 8.90, the system will reject it immediately.
❌ Why Your Order Might Not Execute
📌 For Limit Orders:
Your order won’t execute if there's no matching counter-offer
Example: You want to sell shares at KES 11.00, but buyers are only bidding KES 10.70. Since there’s no match, your order just sits in the market until someone offers KES 11.00.
📌 For Market Orders:
- There might be no available counter-orders
- The stock might be thinly traded
- You could be placing the order outside market hours
🧮 What Happens If the Order Is Only Partially Filled?
🔁 Example: Market Order to Buy 3,000 Shares
📊 Market Depth (Sell Side):
Ask Price | Ask Quantity |
---|---|
10.50 | 1,000 |
10.55 | 1,000 |
10.60 | 500 |
✔️ Execution:
- 1,000 shares at 10.50
- 1,000 shares at 10.55
- 500 shares at 10.60
❗ Remaining 500 shares (not matched):
- Market Order: This may expire immediately or show as unfilled (depends on platform).
- Market-to-Limit: The unmatched 500 becomes a Limit Order at 10.60 — the last matched price.
📈 Why Buy Side Takes the Highest Price & Sell Side the Lowest
- Buyers want their order to be picked first — so they increase their bid.
- Sellers want to attract buyers — so they lower their asking price.
That’s why in the market depth screen:
- 🏆 Highest Bid appears at the top of the buy column
- 🏷️ Lowest Ask appears at the top of the sell column
Incoming orders match top-down based on best price, then time received (FIFO).
📊 Using Market Depth as a Strategic Tool
The Market Depth screen isn’t just for viewing orders — it helps smart investors make better decisions:
- ✅ Predict liquidity: If volumes are low, your order might not fill fast.
- ✅ Adjust your price: Narrow spreads mean faster execution.
- ✅ Choose order type wisely: Use Market Order for speed, Limit Order for control.
📌 Final Thought
Always check the 10% rule range, market depth, and trading hours before placing an order. These tools help you trade smarter and avoid rejected or unfilled orders on the NSE.
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