Market Depth, Time and Sales Explained

Market screens look dense until you separate three ideas: resting orders, completed trades, and where volume clustered. None of those views guarantee your next fill. They describe the market as reported to the screen.

Market depth (the book)

Depth shows buy interest (bids) and sell interest (asks) at successive prices when that data is available for a symbol. It answers “where are resting orders right now?” Visible size can vanish in a second; treating it as a promise of price is a common mistake.

Time and sales (the tape)

Time and sales lists trades that already happened — price and quantity as prints arrive. It is a history of executions for the selected symbol, not a forecast of the next print.

Volume at price

Some layouts stack traded volume against price levels for a session or window. That can show where activity concentrated. It still does not tell you what to buy or sell.

On the Airalgo platform

Eligible clients of Lotusdew Securities can use depth, time and sales, and volume-at-price views on the Airalgo platform, subject to account status and entitlements. Sign in at trade.airalgo.com. New clients start with account opening.

Habits that keep data useful

• Use screens as context; confirm fills with contract notes.
• Bookmark official Airalgo / Lotusdew URLs only.
• If you are new to cash-segment broking, read equity broking and investor awareness.

Market data is informational. Features may vary by account. Investments in securities market are subject to market risks; read all the related documents carefully before investing.