Transaction rules
Here are the opening hours of markets, the types of orders authorised under the markets, their validity periods, the trading hours. That is to say, all the information you need to invest better!
- Stocks
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Brussels
Introduction
It is only possible to deal on the First Market (Premier Marché) (warrants and shares), which includes the forward market and the cash market. The forward market is reserved for the most liquid shares, and is divided into two segments (the continual market and semi-continual market), while the cash market addresses the smallest capitalisations, which are only quoted twice a day (double fixing).
Opening times
Group Equities Continuous Equities Double fixing Equities Continuous Warrants Double fixing Pre-opening 07:15 07:15 07:15 07:15 Fixing 09:00 11:30 09:05 12:00 Pre-opening(2) 17:30 12:00 - - Fixing(2) 17:35 16:30 - 17:00 Session(2) TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) - - - Closing 17:40 17:00 17:30 17:30 Shut down 17:40 17:00 17:30 17:30 (*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Continuous Equities Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 09:00 Pre-opening(2) 17:30 Fixing(2) 17:35 Session(2) TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) Closing 17:40 Shut down 17:40 (*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Double fixing Equities Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 11:30 Pre-opening(2) 12:00 Fixing(2) 16:30 Session(2) - Closing 17:00 Shut down 17:00 Continuous Warrants Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 09:05 Pre-opening(2) - Fixing(2) - Session(2) - Closing 17:30 Shut down 17:30 Double fixing Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 12:00 Pre-opening(2) - Fixing(2) 17:00 Session(2) - Closing 17:30 Shut down 17:30
Types of orders allowed
1° Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the order book as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the order book. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
Market orders are only accepted for the continual segment of the forward market (groups A0, A1, A2, A3, A4). They can be placed while the stock exchange session is "open" (see opening times).
When placing market orders, the "price" field should be left empty.
2° Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
Limit orders can be placed both on the cash and forward markets.
When creating a limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a market order (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
When creating a Stop order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98 . You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sellorder with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a marketorder that will be executed against marketprice.We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed. We recommend to use this type of order rather than a regular Stop order as it is safer in turbulent market conditions.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
When creating a Stop limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sellorder. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.The reference price for the trailing stop orders comes always from Euronext never from Equiduct.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
6° 'Iceberg' order
'Iceberg' orders allow the execution of high volume orders without displaying the total quantity of that order (to gain efficiency). 'Iceberg' orders need to be showing at least 10 times the minimum trading unit of the stock concerned.
This type of order is well adapted for illiquid stocks (low volume).
For instance, you can sell 10.000 shares by displaying only 1.000 at a time. Every time 1.000 pieces will be executed, another 1.000 will be displayed in the order book (you do, however, lose your priority if another seller comes and places a sell order at the same limit. This would not be the case if you would sell the 10.000 shares in one block).
'Iceberg' orders are only compatible with limit orders.
7° Stop on quote order
A stop on quote order can only be used for warrants and turbo’s.
This type of order can be compared to a stop order.
The stop price you introduce must be higher than the ask of the liquidity provider (to buy) or lower than the bid of the liquidity provider (to sell).
The most important difference is that such an order is not activated on the last quote, but on the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider for the warrant of turbo.
A limit order of a private investor will not activate your stop on quote order. Only the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider can activate it.
A liquidity provider is a professional is always present ion the market to ensure the liquidity of the product. You recognize a liquidity provider by a large volume and equal bid and ask.
When creating a Stop On Quote order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
8° ALL or NONE' orders (AON)
Euronext does not allow orders of the type ' All Or None' (AON) any more.
This order type is only available on the US markets.
“Collar Logic” mechanism
NYSE Euronext works with Collar Logic to protect investors, while avoiding blocking trades.
With Collar Logic, NYSE Euronext defines two thresholds (= the collar) between which trades can take place. The level of the thresholds adapts automatically to the last price traded. You can view the Collar on the secure site, on the page with detailed price information, under “price margin”.
When you enter an order with a limit that is outside the Collar, you will receive a warning that tells you your limit is outside the Collar. Nevertheless, you can confirm your order (by introducing your confirmation code), a confirmation message will then automatically be sent to Euronext and your order will be executed outside of the Collar.
When you introduce a market order, you will receive no warning and your order can be executed outside of the Collar.
Orders that are in the order book for a period longer than 30 seconds and that are matched outside of the Collar will be rejected by Euronext. This can only happen due to a sudden price movement, where the match price is outside of the Collar.
When an order is partially executed, the remaining part will be cancelled in case of a next match outside of the Collar.
Instruments with a fixing, ETF’s and Trackers have no Collar Logic mechanism.
You can find more information on the Collar Logic mechanism here.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 365 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 -
Paris
Opening times
Group Equities Continuous Equities Double fixing Equities Continuous Warrants Double fixing Pre-opening 07:15 07:15 07:15 07:15 Fixing 09:00 11:30 09:05 12:00 Pre-opening(2) 17:30 12:00 - - Fixing(2) 17:35 16:30 - 17:00 Session(2) TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) - - - Closing 17:40 17:00 17:30 17:30 Shut down 17:40 17:00 17:30 17:30 (*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Continuous Equities Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 09:00 Pre-opening(2) 17:30 Fixing(2) 17:35 Session(2) TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) Closing 17:40 Shut down 17:40 (*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Double fixing Equities Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 11:30 Pre-opening(2) 12:00 Fixing(2) 16:30 Session(2) - Closing 17:00 Shut down 17:00 Continuous Warrants Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 09:05 Pre-opening(2) - Fixing(2) - Session(2) - Closing 17:30 Shut down 17:30 Double fixing Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 12:00 Pre-opening(2) - Fixing(2) 17:00 Session(2) - Closing 17:30 Shut down 17:30
Types of order allowed
1° Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the order book as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the order book. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
When introducing a market order, leave the 'price' field empty.
2° Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but naturally gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
When creating a Limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a marketorder (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
When creating a Stop order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98 . You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sellorder with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a marketorder that will be executed against marketprice.We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed. We recommend to use this type of order rather than a regular Stop order as it is safer in turbulent market conditions.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
When creating a Stop limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sell order. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.Remark
On the Paris market, the difference between stop price and limit price for a stop limit orders must be a multiple of 0,1 with a minimum of 0,15° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.The reference price for the trailing stop orders comes always from Euronext never from Equiduct.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
6° 'Iceberg' order
'Iceberg' orders allow the execution of high volume orders without displaying the total quantity of that order (to gain efficiency). 'Iceberg' orders need to be showing at least 10 times the minimum trading unit of the stock concerned.
This type of order is well adapted for illiquid stocks (low volume).
For instance, you can sell 10.000 shares by displaying only 1.000 at a time. Every time 1.000 pieces will be executed, another 1.000 will be displayed in the order book (you do, however, lose your priority if another seller comes and places a sell order at the same limit. This would not be the case if you would sell the 10.000 shares in one block).
'Iceberg' orders are only compatible with limit orders.
7° Stop on quote order
A stop on quote order can only be used for warrants and turbo’s.
This type of order can be compared to a stop order.
The stop price you introduce must be higher than the ask of the liquidity provider (to buy) or lower than the bid of the liquidity provider (to sell).
The most important difference is that such an order is not activated on the last quote, but on the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider for the warrant of turbo.
A limit order of a private investor will not activate your stop on quote order. Only the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider can activate it.
A liquidity provider is a professional is always present ion the market to ensure the liquidity of the product. You recognize a liquidity provider by a large volume and equal bid and ask.
When creating a Stop On Quote order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
8° ALL or NONE' orders (AON)
Euronext does not allow orders of the type ' All Or None' (AON) any more.
This order type is only available on the US markets.
“Collar Logic” mechanism
NYSE Euronext works with Collar Logic to protect investors, while avoiding blocking trades.
With Collar Logic, NYSE Euronext defines two thresholds (= the collar) between which trades can take place. The level of the thresholds adapts automatically to the last price traded. You can view the Collar on the secure site, on the page with detailed price information, under “price margin”.
When you enter an order with a limit that is outside the Collar, you will receive a warning that tells you your limit is outside the Collar. Nevertheless, you can confirm your order (by introducing your confirmation code), a confirmation message will then automatically be sent to Euronext and your order will be executed outside of the Collar.
When you introduce a market order, you will receive no warning and your order can be executed outside of the Collar.
Orders that are in the order book for a period longer than 30 seconds and that are matched outside of the Collar will be rejected by Euronext. This can only happen due to a sudden price movement, where the match price is outside of the Collar.
When an order is partially executed, the remaining part will be cancelled in case of a next match outside of the Collar.
Instruments with a fixing, ETF’s and Trackers have no Collar Logic mechanism.
You can find more information on the Collar Logic mechanism here.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 365 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 -
Equiduct
All orders will be routed to Equiduct except for the orders that are sent just before the market open (9h00) and orders that are sent in just before the market close (17h30), during this short time frames the orders will be sent to the home market (Euronext)
From a certain order size – that varies per instrument – the optimal best execution can not be guaranteed on Equiduct, these orders will be sent automatically to Euronext.
For more information please have a look at our best execution policy.
1° Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the order book as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the order book. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
When placing market orders, the "price" field should be left empty.
2° Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
Limit orders can be placed both on the cash and forward markets.
When creating a market order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a market order (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
When creating a Stop order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sell order with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a market order that will be executed against market price.We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
The stop price can be activated when the stop price is hit on the reference markets or Equiduct like for example; Euronext, CHI-X etc.. or it can be hit on Equiduct itself (Hybridbook).
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
When creating a Stop Limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sell order. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.The reference price for the trailing stop orders comes always from Euronext never from Equiduct.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 90 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 -
Amsterdam
Opening times
Amsterdam is open from 9.00 am till 5.35 pm.
- The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8.30 am onward, but remain in "Wait" status until 9.00 am.
- Day orders accepted by euronext on that trading day are cancelled at 6.15 pm.
- Orders placed after 5.40 pm are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
Group Equities Continuous Equities Double fixing Equities Continuous Warrants Double fixing Pre-opening 07:15 07:15 07:15 07:15 Fixing 09:00 11:30 09:05 12:00 Pre-opening(2) 17:30 12:00 - - Fixing(2) 17:35 16:30 - 17:00 Session(2) TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) - - - Closing 17:40 17:00 17:30 17:30 Shut down 17:40 17:00 17:30 17:30 (*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Continuous Equities Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 09:00 Pre-opening(2) 17:30 Fixing(2) 17:35 Session(2) TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) Closing 17:40 Shut down 17:40 (*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Double fixing Equities Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 11:30 Pre-opening(2) 12:00 Fixing(2) 16:30 Session(2) - Closing 17:00 Shut down 17:00 Continuous Warrants Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 09:05 Pre-opening(2) - Fixing(2) - Session(2) - Closing 17:30 Shut down 17:30 Double fixing Pre-opening 07:15 Fixing 12:00 Pre-opening(2) - Fixing(2) 17:00 Session(2) - Closing 17:30 Shut down 17:30
Types of orders and quantities allowed
1° Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell securities immediately at the best price available on the market. It gives you no guarantee on the final price of the transaction (especially if there is high activity in the security), but on the other hand there is a greater probability that your order will be executed. If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty.
2° Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
When you place orders via Keytrade Bank, you cannot indicate a price which differs by more than 40% from the last price.
When creating a Limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Remark
Orders of less than 100 shares have no influence on the bid and ask price.3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a market order (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
When creating a Stop order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sell order with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a market order that will be executed against market price.We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
When creating a Stop Limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sell order. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.The reference price for the trailing stop orders comes always from Euronext never from Equiduct.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
6° 'Iceberg' order
'Iceberg' orders allow the execution of high volume orders without displaying the total quantity of that order (to gain efficiency). 'Iceberg' orders need to be showing at least 10 times the minimum trading unit of the stock concerned.
This type of order is well adapted for illiquid stocks (low volume).
For instance, you can sell 10.000 shares by displaying only 1.000 at a time. Every time 1.000 pieces will be executed, another 1.000 will be displayed in the order book (you do, however, lose your priority if another seller comes and places a sell order at the same limit. This would not be the case if you would sell the 10.000 shares in one block).
'Iceberg' orders are only compatible with limit orders.
7° Stop on quote order
A stop on quote order can only be used for warrants and turbo’s.
This type of order can be compared to a stop order.
The stop price you introduce must be higher than the ask of the liquidity provider (to buy) or lower than the bid of the liquidity provider (to sell).
The most important difference is that such an order is not activated on the last quote, but on the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider for the warrant of turbo.
A limit order of a private investor will not activate your stop on quote order. Only the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider can activate it.
A liquidity provider is a professional is always present ion the market to ensure the liquidity of the product. You recognize a liquidity provider by a large volume and equal bid and ask.
You can also give an additional limit when you place a stop on quote + limit order. This type of order can be compared to a stop limit order.
When creating a Stop On Quote order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
8° ALL or NONE' orders (AON)
Euronext does not allow orders of the type ' All Or None' (AON) any more.
This order type is only available on the US markets.
“Collar Logic” mechanism
NYSE Euronext works with Collar Logic to protect investors, while avoiding blocking trades.
With Collar Logic, NYSE Euronext defines two thresholds (= the collar) between which trades can take place. The level of the thresholds adapts automatically to the last price traded. You can view the Collar on the secure site, on the page with detailed price information, under “price margin”.
When you enter an order with a limit that is outside the Collar, you will receive a warning that tells you your limit is outside the Collar. Nevertheless, you can confirm your order (by introducing your confirmation code), a confirmation message will then automatically be sent to Euronext and your order will be executed outside of the Collar.
When you introduce a market order, you will receive no warning and your order can be executed outside of the Collar.
Orders that are in the order book for a period longer than 30 seconds and that are matched outside of the Collar will be rejected by Euronext. This can only happen due to a sudden price movement, where the match price is outside of the Collar.
When an order is partially executed, the remaining part will be cancelled in case of a next match outside of the Collar.
Instruments with a fixing, ETF’s and Trackers have no Collar Logic mechanism.
You can find more information on the Collar Logic mechanism here.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 365 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+3 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 -
Switzerland
Keytrade Bank offers online access to the SIX Swiss Exchange.
The SIX Swiss Exchange is the market where you can trade Swiss and international shares.
SIX Swiss Exchange has been created as a real response to the ever-growing demand from both the investment and corporate communities for a pan-European blue chip. You can trade bleu chips (Swiss as well as international).
Opening times
De SIX Swiss Exchange is open from 9 a.m. till 5.30 p.m.
SIX Swiss Exchange is open from 9 a.m. till 5.30 p.m.
The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8 a.m. onward, but remain in "Wait" status until 9.00 a.m.
Day orders are cancelled at 5.30 p.m.
Orders placed after 5.30 p.m. are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
Types of orders allowed
1° Market order
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell securities immediately at the best price available on the market. It gives you no guarantee on the final price of the transaction (especially if there is high activity in the security), but on the other hand there is a greater probability that your order will be executed. If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty.
2° Limit order
A limit order is an order at a certain price and certain quantity, which can be executed in total or partially. If there is a partial execution the non-executed part remains in the order book.
It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
For example, with a sell order the limit price is the minimum price at which you are prepared to sell, your order will not be executed at a lower price. When you want to place a limit order, you need to fill in the field "price".
3° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last).
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, then it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled - Valable jusqu'à annulation) Your order will be valid for 90 days. If the date you introduced is a holiday, your order will be valid till the closure of the working day after the holiday. You, the stock market or Keytrade Bank can cancel the orders.
Remark 1:
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Tick sizes of the market
Blue Chips 0,0001-0,4999 0,0001 0,5-0,9995 0,0005 1-4,999 0,001 5-9,995 0,005 10-49,99 0,01 50-99,95 0,05 100-499,9 0,1 500-999,9 0,5 1000-4999 1 5000-9995 5 >10000 10 Mid-and Small Caps 0,01-0,99 0,01 10-99,95 0,05 100-249,9 0,10 250-499,75 0,25 500-999,5 0,5 1000-4999 1 >5000 5
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 Remark 3:
If you enter a limit order, your limit may not diverge too much from the last price. If you don’t respect this rule, your order will be rejected. In the diagram below, you find the authorized deviation compared to the stock price.Stock price authorized deviation 0.01-0.05 300 % 0.06-0.25 150 % 0.26-0.5 60 % 0.51-1 30 % 1.01-5 20 % 5.01-100 10 % >100 8 % -
Frankfurt (Xetra)
Opening times
Xetra is open from 9 am till 5.30 pm.
Types of order and quantities allowed
1° Market order
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell securities immediately at the best price available on the market. It gives you no guarantee on the final price of the transaction (especially if there is high activity in the security), but on the other hand there is a greater probability that your order will be executed. If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty.
2° Limit order
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when purchasing and selling, but of course gives no guarantee regarding the execution of the order.
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a marketorder (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sellorder with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a marketorder that will be executed against marketprice.We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed. We recommend to use this type of order rather than a regular Stop order as it is safer in turbulent market conditions.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sellorder. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.
5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 90 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Tick sizes of the market
Stocks 0-9,999 0,001 EUR 10-49,995 0,005 EUR 50-99,99 0,01 EUR 100+ 0,05 EUR ETF’s 0-4,999 0,001 EUR 5-9,999 0,005 EUR 10+ 0,01 EUR Remark
When a dayorder partially gets executed during a tradingday, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 Remark 3
If you enter a limit order, your limit may not diverge too much from the last price. If you don’t respect this rule, your order will be rejected. In the diagram below, you find the authorized deviation compared to the stock price.Stock price authorized deviation 0.01-0.05 300 % 0.06-0.25 150 % 0.26-0.5 60 % 0.51-1 30 % 1.01-5 20 % 5.01-100 10 % >100 8 % -
London Stock Exchange (LSE)
Keytrade Bank offers online access to the SETS (Stock Exchange Trading System).
The Stock Exchange Trading System - SETS is an electronic limit order book used to trade blue-chip stocks including all FTSE 100 and all UK FTSE Eurotop 300 stocks plus those with traded options.
Opening times
The London Stock Exchange is open from 8 am until 4.30 pm CET
On the Sets the continuous trading period is preceded by a 10 minutes auction time and by a 5 minutes time auction closing period.
Type of order allowed
1° Market order
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the orderbook as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the orderbook. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
When introducing a market order, leave the 'price' field empty.
2° Limit order
An order submitted to our trading system with a specified size and price which is either held on our trading system or executes, either in part or in full, against eligible orders with any remaining unexecuted portion being added to the order book.
3° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last) Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives.
Stamp-duty
On buy orders on the London Stock Exchange there is a stamp duty of 0,50% of the nominal amount.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, then it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled - Valable jusqu'à annulation) Your order will be valid for 90 days. If the date you introduced is a holiday, your order will be valid till the closure of the working day after the holiday. You, the stock market or Keytrade Bank can cancel the orders.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 -
Milan
Opening times
The italian market is open from 9.00 am till 5.40 pm.
The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8 am onward, but remain in "Wait" status until 9.00 am.
Day orders are cancelled at 5.45 pm.
Orders placed after 5.40 pm are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
Types of orders and quantities allowed
1° Limit order
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
When you place orders via Keytrade Bank, you cannot indicate a price which differs by more than 40% from the last price.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 30 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Attention: Every third friday of the month, all pending orders (totally or partially unexecuted) will be cancelled by the Italian Exchange if their limit is 10% higher or lower than the last price traded on the stock.
When a dayorder partially gets executed during a tradingday, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions. Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 -
Madrid
Opening times
The Spanish market is open from 9 a.m. till 5.30 p.m.
The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8.30 a.m. onward, but remain in "Wait" status until 9 a.m. Day orders are cancelled at 5.45 p.m. Orders placed after 5.40 p.m. are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
Trading
Continuous trading: eight and a half hours (9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) for proposals and trades, 30 minutes for adjusting positions (8:30a.m. to 9a.m.) and 5 minutes for the closing auction.
Two kinds of trading are possible within principal trading:
1° General
Trading from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The most liquid shares use this system.
2° New Market
Trading from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. This system is used by technology sector companies (product or level of productive process), with an economic cycle or potential market subject to the uncertainty of the novel.
3° Fixing
Used for less liquid stocks in the Spanish Stock Market Interconnection System. All buy and sell orders are grouped together twice during the session (at 12 a.m. and 4 p.m.) so as to reduce volatility and make pricing of these stocks more efficient.
Type of order allowed
1° Market order
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the orderbook as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the orderbook. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
When introducing a market order, leave the 'price' field empty.
2° Limit order
An order submitted to our trading system with a specified size and price which is either held on our trading system or executes, either in part or in full, against eligible orders with any remaining unexecuted portion being added to the order book.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 30 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a tradingday, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Remark 2
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 -
US
Opening times
The US markets are open from 3.30 pm till 10 pm (GMT-5 local time). See also Extended hour trading.
Types of order allowed
1° Market order
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at any price. The final price is therefore not guaranteed (especially if there is a high activity in the security), but on the other hand there is a greater probability that your order will be executed.
If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty.Market orders cannot be placed on the OTC-BB.
Initial Public Offering (IPO): before the first trading of the share, it is not possible either to place a market order.
Last but not least: a market order in combination with a GTC order (validity of the order) is not accepted.
2° Limit order
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when purchasing and selling, but of course gives no guarantee regarding the execution of the order.
Example
if you want to sell, your limit is the minimum price against which you want to sell. If the quotation is below your limit, your order will not be executed.When placing a limited order, you do fill in the "price" field.
In order to understand clearly when to use a limit order, it is important to know that with the exception of the NYSE, the US markets are managed by market makers charged with assuring liquidity. They take positions for both purchasing and selling the securities they are responsible for, where their margin is the difference between BID & ASK. That means for a limit order to be executed, it is not sufficient for the limit to be reached during the session, but it is absolutely necessary for the market maker to have been positioned. This means that if you place a buy order, your limit should reach the ASK price for your order to be executed.
From October 3rd 2016 on , some stocks quoted on Nasdaq or NYSE will trade with a tick size of 0.05. Orders with a limit of eg 20.03 will be rejected by the exchange. The limit should be 20 or 20.05. The list of actions that meet this rule is available on the following links:
- http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=TickPilot
- ftp://ftp.nyxdata.com/Tick_Pilot/Tick_Pilot_Historical/
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a marketorder (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!) As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
Example
You bought a share at 100 USD, that quotes at the moment 98 USD. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sellorder with as stop 95 USD. This means that if the share quote drops till 95 USD, your order will be activated and becomes a marketorder that will be executed against marketprice.We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
Attention:
A stop order will be triggered if the bid or ask reaches your stop price for stocks trading on US markets like: NASDAQ, NYSE or AMEX
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed. We recommend to use this type of order rather than a regular Stop order as it is safer in turbulent market conditions.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
Example
You bought a share at 100 USD, that quotes at the moment 98 USD. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sellorder. With as stop 95 USD and as limit 93 USD. This means that if the share quote drops till 95 USD, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with 93 USD as limit.Attention:
A stop limit order will be triggered when- the bid or ask reaches your stop price (for orders on NASDAQ)
- the price of the latest executed order reaches your stop price (for orders on NYSE or AMEX)
When placing a stop limit order you need to consider the following rule when placing the order, all orders that do not comply to this rule will be rejected.
Stop Price Limit Portion of the Stop Limit Stop price parameters Less or equal to $5 Not more than 110% 10% More than $5 but less or equal to $50 Not more than 105% 5% More than $50 Not more than 103% 3% For example; a sell order entered at $10 with a stop limit of $9 would be rejected. The $1 difference between $10 and $9 is greater than the 5% parameter for a $10 stop price. The stop limit would have to be $0.50 or less.
5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 365 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Tick sizes of the market
Stocks 0-9,999 0,0001 EUR 10-49,995 0,0005 EUR 50-99,99 0,001 EUR 100+ 0,005 EUR ETF’s 0-4,999 0,001 EUR 5-9,999 0,005 EUR 10+ 0,01 EUR Remark
When a dayorder partially gets executed during a tradingday, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 -
Canadian markets
Opening times
The Canadian markets are open from 3.30 p.m. till 10 p.m. (GMT-5).
Types of orders allowed
- Limit order
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when purchasing and selling, but of course gives no guarantee regarding the execution of the order. Ex: if you want to sell, your limit is the minimum price against which you want to sell. If the quotation is below your limit, your order will not be executed. When placing a limited order, you do fill in the "price" field.
Quantity
On the Canadian markets, they work with `board lot' orders. A ‘board lot' order is an order which acts on a volume determined in advance.
The board lot size depends on the trading price of the security:- The trading price per unit is lower than $ 0.10 - the board lot size is 1,000 units
- The trading price per unit is between $ 0.10 and $ 0.99 - the board lot size is of 500 units
- The trading price per unit is of $ 1.00 or more - the board lot size is of 100 units
Example
if you wish to buy an action X which is for the moment quoted at $ 0.90 and you give an order for 500 shares, then your order will be carried out at once.
If you carry out an order for 700 shares, then you will receive a first execution of 500 shares and 200 shares will remain on the market, even if those are in the same limit on the market as the trading price of the moment.We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 90 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark 1
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted. When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.Remark 2
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 - Limit order
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OMX (Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen)
1° Opening times
The Stockholm market is open from 9.00 am till 5.25 pm CET (closing call 5.25 pm until 5.30 pm).
The Helsinki market is open from 9.00 am till 5.25 pm CET (closing call 5.25 pm until 5.30 pm).
The Copenhagen market is open from 9.00 am till 4.55 pm CET (closing call 4.55 pm until 5.00 pm).
The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8 am onwards, but remain in "Wait" status until 9 am.
Day orders are cancelled after closing of the market, at 5.45 pm. Orders placed after 5.40 pm are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
2° Currencies
The Stockholm market quotes in SEK.
The Helsinki market quotes in EUR.
The Copenhagen market quotes in DKK.
3° Types of orders and quantities allowed
1. Market orders
A market order makes allows to buy or sell securities at the best price available on the market. It gives no guarantee on the final execution price of the transaction (especially if there is high volatility). If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty.Market orders can only be entered during the opening hours of OMX. During the closing hours of the market, you must use a limit order.
Remark : A market order on these markets is an IOC ( immediate-or-kill ) order. Your order will match directly with the best price on the other side of the order book. But if there is not enough volume at the best price, the remaining part of the order will be cancelled immediately.
A market order on Nasdaq OMX will be executed based only on the available volume of the best bid or ask.
What does this mean?
If your market order’s volume is bigger than what is available in the order book on the best bid or ask, it will be only partially executed. The remaining part of the order will be cancelled by the stock market itself.
The same logic applies to an automatic market order when a certain stop price has been reached in case of a stop order or a trailing stop order.
Example:
You are placing an order to buy 200 shares of a company listing on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. There are only 50 available at the best ask price. Consequently, your order will be executed partially (50 shares), the remaining 150 will be cancelled by the stock market itself.
2. Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order as you set a limit price a which you are ready to buy or sell. A limit order gives no guarantee as to execution of the order.3. Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order: A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase: A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
4° Validity of orders
It is possible to determine the validity of your orders :
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 90 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
When a day order gets executed partially, the remaining part of the order will be cancelled after market closing. If you want the remaining part to be executed as well, you will have to enter a new order, for which a full transaction fee will be debited.
When placing a GTC order, the remaining part of the order will remain valid on the market until complete execution or cancellation. You pay only one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions. Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Tick sizes of the market
Helsinki 0,01 EUR Stockholm 0,0001-0,4999 0,0001 0,5-0,9995 0,0005 1-4,999 0,001 5-9,995 0,005 10-49,99 0,01 50-99,95 0,05 100-499,9 0,1 500-999,9 0,5 1000-4999 1 5000-9995 5 >10000 10 Copenhagen 0-4,99 0,01 5-9,95 0,05 10-49,9 0,1 50-249,75 0,25 250-499,5 0,5 500-4999 1 5000-19990 10 >20000 100 Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 Remark 2
If you enter a limit order, your limit may not diverge too much from the last price. If you don’t respect this rule, your order will be rejected. In the diagram below, you find the authorized deviation compared to the stock price.Stock price authorized deviation 0.01-0.05 300 % 0.06-0.25 150 % 0.26-0.5 60 % 0.51-1 30 % 1.01-5 20 % 5.01-100 10 % >100 8 % -
Oslo Exchange
1° Opening times
The Oslo Exchange is open from 9.00 am till 5.30 pm CET.
The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8.30 onwards, but remain in "Wait" status until 9 am.
Day orders are cancelled after closing of the market, at 4.30 pm. Orders placed after 4.30 pm are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
2° Currencies
The Oslo Exchange quotes in NOK.
3° Types of orders and quantities allowed
1. Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the orderbook as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the orderbook. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question. If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty. Attention: Market orders can only be entered during the opening hours of the Oslo Exchange. During the closing hours of the market, you must use a limit order.2. Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order as you set a limit price a which you are ready to buy or sell. A limit order gives no guarantee as to execution of the order.
4° Validity of orders
It is possible to determine the validity of your orders :
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 90 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
When a day order gets executed partially, the remaining part of the order will be cancelled after market closing. If you want the remaining part to be executed as well, you will have to enter a new order, for which a full transaction fee will be debited.
When placing a GTC order, the remaining part of the order will remain valid on the market until complete execution or cancellation. You pay only one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions. Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Tick sizes of the market
0,0001-0,4999 0,0001 0,5-0,9995 0,0005 1-4,999 0,001 5-9,995 0,005 10-49,99 0,01 50-99,95 0,05 100-499,9 0,1 500-999,9 0,5 1000-4999 1 5000-9995 5 >10000 10 Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+2 London Stock Exchange D+2 Milan D+2 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+2 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+2 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 Remark 2
If you enter a limit order, your limit may not diverge too much from the last price. If you don’t respect this rule, your order will be rejected. In the diagram below, you find the authorized deviation compared to the stock price.Stock price authorized deviation 0.01-0.05 300 % 0.06-0.25 150 % 0.26-0.5 60 % 0.51-1 30 % 1.01-5 20 % 5.01-100 10 % >100 8 % -
Extended hours trading
You also have the possibility to trade before and after regular market hours (Extended hours trading).
How to place a trade before or after market hours?
Select
"US markets in pre-market"
2.00 pm till 3.15 pm: Introduction of orders
3.25 pm: the non executed orders will automatically be cancelledor
"US markets in after market"
10.15 pm till 00.30 am: Introduction of orders
00.45 am: the non executed orders will automatically be cancelledOnly "Limit" orders and "day" orders are allowed.
All orders that are not executed or that are only partially executed will be immediatly cancelled by Keytrade Bank after the session.
Stocks that you bought in pre-market hours can of course be sold during regular market hours and vice versa. Transaction prices for extended hours trading are similar to prices applicable to other markets.
Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+3 London Stock Exchange D+3 Milan D+3 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+3 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+3 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 - Options
- Options markets
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US witholding tax on options
What is the 'US witholding tax on options'?
Non US residents pay 30%/15% US withholding tax on the payment of a dividend from US source. The US tax authority IRS has noted that foreign investors often avoid taxes by buying options on US stocks. As a consequence of a change of US tax law, withholding tax may in certain cases, from 1/1/2017 on, be levied on dividends paid by the underlying US stock of the option.
In which cases will I have to pay withholding taxes?
The US withholding tax is payable on the dividend paid out by the underlying US stock of the option if the delta of the option is 1 or more at the time of purchase of the option.
If you have bought the option when the delta is 0.9, and the delta is 1 at the time of payment of the dividend, you will not have to pay any withholding tax. It is the delta at the time of the purchase that counts. If you buy an option with a delta 1 and you sell this option before the underlying US stock pays out a dividend, you don’t pay any withholding tax.
- Funds
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Subscription procedure for Funds
Fund means "Undertaking for collective Investment". UCI is a general term used for different undertakings as the Mutual Fund, the open-end collective investment scheme (Sicav) and the closed-end collective investment scheme (Sicaf).
The NAV (Net Asset Value) for most of the funds is calculated on a daily basis (when the market closes). This value is published the following day on the site. Sales and purchases never take place at this NAV. The actual trade date depends on the policy of the fundcompany.
Each subscription/redemption request of shares/units of the fund can be introduced and registered through our Transaction Site. On each working day, Keytrade Bank centralizes all these requests placed from 11h30 (Belgian time) of the previous day (D-1) or the previous working day until 11h30 of D-day and sends them immediately to its correspondent who on his turn sends them for execution at 13h. The order introduced and registered before 11h30 via our Transaction Site will be executed at the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the same day (D), of the following day (D+1), the next following day (D+2) or weekly (until D+7), depending on the conditions for the subscription and the redemption of shares/ units (especially the cut-off time) mentioned in the prospectus. If the order is placed and registered after 11h30, the order will be sent for execution the following working day. Requests for changes of sub-fund are not possible at Keytrade Bank.
Example 1: You place on D-day at 9h a sell order for a fund with a cut off time indicated in the prospectus fixed at 10h30 and the calculation of the NAV happens on D+1. Because Keytrade Bank will only send your order at 11h30, this is after the cut-off time of the fund, you?ll have the NAV of D+1, calculated on D+2.
Example 2: You place on D-day at 12h a sell order for the same fund. Your order will be sent the following working day at 11h30 to our correspondent and therefore you?ll have the NAV of D+2, calculated on D+3.
Example 3: You place on D-day at 9h a sell order for a fund with a cut off time indicated in the prospectus fixed at 12h and the calculation of the Net Asset Value (NAV) happens on D+1. Keytrade Bank will send your order at 11h30 but the order will be sent only at 13h by our correspondent, your order will be sent after the cut-off time of the fund, you'll have to the NAV D+1, calculated on D+2.
Example 4: You place on D-day at 9h a sell order for a fund with a cut off time indicated in the prospectus fixed at 15h and the calculation of the Net Asset Value (NAV) happens on D+1. Keytrade Bank will send your order at 11h30 and the order will be sent at 13h by our correspondent, your order will be sent before the cut-off time of the fund, you?ll have to the NAV of the day (D), calculated on D+1.
Attention: It is possible that your order remains "pending", even if it is already executed on the correct date and at the right price. This is due to the fact that the market of investment funds doesn't work in real time and Keytrade Bank therefore has to wait on the definitive confirmation of the execution by the funds managers. And this can take some days.
Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+3 London Stock Exchange D+3 Milan D+3 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+3 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+3 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 - Bonds
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Eurobonds market rules
Eurobonds are bonds which are often issued in several European countries simultaneously. Issuers are often large international institutions, companies, and sometimes public authorities. The prefix "Euro" simply refers to the bond's location of issue (Europe). It does not refer to the nationality of its issuer or the currency of issue. A Eurobond can therefore very easily be issued by a Japanese company in US Dollars.
Alongside the Eurobonds market, the national or domestic bond market also exists. These bonds are only issued in the country of their issuer, e.g. a bond for General Motors would be issued in the US. Keytrade Bank negotiates exclusively in Eurobonds.
Issuing bonds (primary market)
An issuer such as a multinational wishing to issue bonds in order to raise finance for its company will contact a specialist banker who will take care of all the necessary formalities. Furthermore, a certain number of factors need to be defined. The most important of these are: the bond's issue size, period, currency, coupon and subscription price.
- Issue size: this is the total amount that the issuer would like to raise on the primary bond market. A routine issue size on the Eurobonds market would be EUR 100 million.
- The life span of the bond is determined by the issuer. This period more often than not varies between 3 and 10 years.
- Currency: although most bonds are issued in euros, a Eurobond can actually be issued in any currency that exists.
- Coupon: the periodic interest (often paid annually) that the investor will receive on the nominal value of the investment.
- Subscription price: a percentage of the nominal value; the bond is issued against this percentage on the primary market.
For example: General Motors wishes to issue a Eurobond. It will be agreed with the investment banker that the issue on the primary market will have the following characteristics:
- Issue size: EUR 150,000,000
- Life span: 7 years
- Currency: Euro
- Coupon: 5.25%
- Issue price: 101%
During a defined period called the subscription period (which often lasts 4-6 weeks) investors can sign up to the bond issued by General Motors (subscription on primary market). For a nominal investment of EUR 10,000, the investor will have to pay EUR 10,100 (101%). Every year for 7 years, this bond will yield a return of EUR 525 (5.25% of EUR 10,000) on the coupon date, before deductions are made for withholding tax. On the maturity date (after 7 years) the investor will be paid back the EUR 10,000 capital investment.
The secondary Eurobonds market.
Once the subscription period for the bond issue has closed, it is no longer possible to sign up for the bond at the original price. The bond is then no longer listed on the "primary market".
This does not mean that an interested investor has missed their chance to buy the bond.
The day after the subscription period closes, the bond issue in fact moves from the primary market to the secondary market.
The secondary Eurobonds market is simply a market for existing bonds. Buyers and sellers are continuously active on this market.
This is why market pricing constantly comes into play. An investor who buys a bond on the primary market can in principle always sell it on the secondary market. An active investor can go to the secondary market to acquire bonds listed at very attractive prices.
Contrary to the situation on the equity markets, the majority of trades in Eurobonds take place directly between professionals such as bankers or stockbrokers, etc. rather than via stock exchanges.
Though Eurobonds are often listed on the stock markets (mostly on the Luxembourg stock exchange), the majority of trades are carried out "over-the-counter" (between professionals) for reasons of limited liquidity. This means that unlike the stock markets, the Eurobonds market is a true professionals' market.
Keytrade Bank offers its customers access to this secondary professionals' market via its Eurobonds trading platform.
The basics of investing in Eurobonds
Why should I invest in bonds? How secure is an investment in bonds? How can I choose a good bond, and what do I need to look out for?
We have tried to provide answers to these questions in the points that follow. We hope they will help you to understand some of the introductory principles of investing in bonds.
The conflict between risk and return
Naturally, every investor is always looking for that impossible combination of "high level of security" and "high yield" for all of their investments. But unfortunately, security rarely equates with a high return. A high return is more often than not coupled with a high level of risk. This universal rule applies throughout the financial world, and this includes on the bond market.
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Quality and rating
The quality of the issuer is often expressed through its rating, which gives an indication of its level of solvency. The following question then arises: how can the bondholder (the investor) be sure that the issuer will honour all of his commitments? In addition to making regular interest payments, the issuer must be in a position to repay the nominal value of the bond upon maturity.
There are several rating agencies all pursuing the same objective, which is to assess the solvency of issuers on the bond market. The most well known of these are Standard & Poors (S&P) and Moody'sFollowing an in-depth analysis of the issuers, these agencies award them a credit rating, which is an indication of the issuers' level of solvency.
Standard & Poor's Moody's AAA
An obligation rated 'AAA' has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor's. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on an obligation is extremely strong.Aaa
Bonds which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as "gilt edged." Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues.AA
An obligation rated 'AA' differs from the highest rated obligations only in small degree. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.Aa1 - Aa3
Bonds which are rated Aas are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high-grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risk appear somewhat larger than the Aaa securities.A
An obligation rated 'A' is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rated categories. However, the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.A1 - A3
Bonds which are rated A possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper-medium-grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate, but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment some time in the future.BBB
An obligation rated 'BBB' exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.Baa1 - Baa3
Bonds which are rated Baa are considered as medium-grade obligations (i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured). Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well.BB
An obligation rated 'BB' is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financiaBa1 - Ba3
Bonds which are rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements; their future cannot be considered as well assured. Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate, and thereby not well safeguarded during both good and bad times over the future. Uncertainty of position characterizes bonds in this class.B
An obligation rated 'B' is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated 'BB', but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor's capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.B1 - B3
Bonds which are rated B generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment. Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small.CCC
An obligation rated 'CCC' is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.Caa1 - Caa3
Bonds which are rated Caa are of poor standing. Such issues may be in default or there may be present elements of danger with respect to principal or interest.CC
An obligation rated 'CC' is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment.Ca
Bonds which are rated Ca represent obligations which are speculative in a high degree. Such issues are often in default or have other marked shortcomings.C
A subordinated debt or preferred stock obligation rated 'C' is CURRENTLY HIGHLY VULNERABLE to nonpayment. The 'C' rating may be used to cover a situation where a bankruptcy petition has been filed or similar action taken, but payments on this obligation are being continued. A 'C' also will be assigned to a preferred stock issues in arrears on dividends or sinking fund payments, but that is currently paying.C
Bonds which are rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds, and issues so rated can be regarded as having extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing.D
An obligation rated 'D' is in payment default. The 'D' rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor's believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The 'D' rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.N.R.
This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poor's does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.NR
Not rated.Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from 'AA' to 'CCC' may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories. r This symbol is attached to the ratings of instruments with significant noncredit risks. It highlights risks to principal or volatility of expected returns which are not addressed in the credit rating.
An AAA rating awarded to an issuer by Standard & Poors is an indication that this issuer is very solvent indeed. The equivalent of the S&P AAA rating is the Aaa rating from Moody's. Bonds with a rating of lower than BBB (S&P classification) or Baa3 (Moody's classification) are generally considered to be speculative grade bonds.
Of course, a bond issued by a very good debtor (with a high rating such as AA or A2) will produce a lower yield than a bond with the same characteristics but whose issuer is in financial difficulty and consequently has a rating of B or B2, for example.
So it is essential to always pay attention to the ratings given to bonds when comparing their yields.
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Life span
In normal market circumstances, a long-term bond offers a higher yield than a short-term bond. However, a long-term bond is inherently riskier than a short-term bond, since one can never predict the future. The likelihood that the issuer will fail is obviously greater over a longer period of time compared to a short period. -
Currency
Certain bonds can present a very attractive yield to the investor without there necessarily being any link to a bad debtor. The reason for this could simply be that the bond was issued in a high-yield currency. Yet it must not be forgotten that exchange rates change and that therefore, a risk is present. If you do not wish to take any risks at all, you should only invest in euros. The yield of a bond issued in euros may be smaller than those issued in certain other currencies (e.g. the Hungarian Forint), but you will not incur any foreign exchange risk. If you would prefer to speculate, for example on the rise of the US Dollar, it would be a worthwhile investment to buy bonds in US Dollars. -
Interest rate and coupon
The coupon is the periodic payment of interest that you receive as the holder of bonds. Ordinarily, Eurobonds pay a fixed annual coupon, but twice-yearly or quarterly coupon payments are also possible.The coupon amount is obtained by multiplying the nominal interest rate by the nominal value of the bond.
For example:
A bond has a nominal interest rate of 5.25% per annum. An investor buys EUR 10,000 at a cost of EUR 10,400. Every year, this investor will receive a coupon amounting to 5.25% of EUR 10,000: 5.25% x 10,000 = EUR 525.As well as fixed rate bonds, there are also floating rate bonds. The interest rate for these bonds is modified periodically throughout the life span of the bond, and is often adjusted quarterly. These floating interest rates are often linked to a benchmark rate such as the Euribor rate. In the jargon, these bonds are often also called "Floating Rate Notes".
For example:
a "Floating Rate Note" has a life span of 4 years and pays a quarterly coupon linked to the 3 month Euribor rate + 0.50%..A type of bond also exists that we call "zero-coupon bonds" or "zero bonds". As their name would suggest, these bonds do not pay periodic coupons. But this definitely does not mean that a zero bond is not a worthwhile investment. The main feature of a zero bond is that this bond is issued "under par value". This means that if an investor buys a zero bond, he/she will pay less than the bond repayment amount. The investor's profit is constituted by the difference between the bond repayment (often 100% of the nominal value) and the price the investor paid.
For example:
a zero bond has a life span of 5 years and is listed at 75%. The repayment is for 100%. The investor will receive no coupons for 5 years, but his/her investment of 75% will be repaid at a rate of 100% after 5 years. -
Price and yield
In the example cited above, the investor receives an annual coupon of 5.25%. This coupon is calculated against the nominal value of the bond he/she bought (EUR 10,000), not the price paid (EUR 10,400).As a consequence, the yield the investor obtains on the investment is less than 5.25%!
The investor's "direct yield" only amounts to 525/10,400 = 5.05%.
Thus we can say that the higher the price of the bond, the lower the yield it deliversProfessional investors almost never refer to the idea of direct yield, but instead to what we call the "actuarial yield".
The actuarial yield is the annual yield of a bond which not only takes into account the coupon, but also other aspects such as coupon date, maturity date, current price and the bond repayment.
We will return to the example given above. Let us assume that the investor bought this bond just one year before its maturity date. The buyer would have paid 104% (EUR 10,400 for a nominal value of EUR 10,000) and will receive a 100% repayment (EUR 10,000) after one year. After one year, the investor does the accounts: he/she will receive a coupon of 5.25%, but will lose 4% of the investment (which was bought at 104% but is repaid at 100%). The investor's net yield, therefore, is only 1.25%.
We will now imagine that the investor bought the bond two years before its maturity date, again at 104% of its value. At the end of this period, the investor calculates the yield again: he/she receives 2 coupons of 5.25%, so 10.50%, and loses 4% of the investment. After two years, the net yield achieved is 10.50% - 4% = 6.50%, so approximately 3.25% per year.This method of calculating the yield produces a more precise picture of the actual yield of an investment in a bond than the simple direct yield idea. Professionals calculate this actual yield using the techniques of actuarial mathematics (the example above has been simplified considerably)! This is why we use the term "actuarial yield".
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Particular forms of repayment
Generally, the majority of bonds are repaid in cash equivalent to their nominal value. However, this is not always the case. Some bonds are automatically repaid in stock, and in other cases, the investor has the choice of receiving payment at maturity in stock or in cash. Another possible scenario is that the bond repayment is linked to a stock market index. -
Guarantees/hierarchy
It is generally recognised that bonds are reasonably safe investments. The risk of non-repayment of a bond issued by a good debtor is fairly low. Should an issuer face bankruptcy, the creditors of this issuer will be repaid in a particular order. Certain priority lenders will be repaid in the first instance (e.g. the government, mortgage lenders, etc.) Unsecured creditors are repaid next (the majority of bondholders fall into this category). The final group of creditors is then paid. These include shareholders, holders of subordinated bonds, and so on. Before purchasing a bond, it is therefore crucial that the guarantees and hierarchy of commitments in the event of bankruptcy are established in advance.- Guarantees :
- Unlike secured bonds, unsecured bonds are issued without offering any specific guarantee.
- In the case of multinational companies, bonds issued are often guaranteed by the parent company (called the "company guarantee", or "bank guarantee" in the case of a banking group)
- Some bonds issued are "asset backed". This means that a specific fund is ring-fenced in order to guarantee repayment of the bond.
- Hierarchy:
- In the event of bankruptcy, a subordinated bond is paid after all the other bondholders, directly before the shareholders are paid.
- A "senior bond" is a common form of bond situated above the bottom of the hierarchy, meaning it is more secure than an unsecured bond.
- Guarantees :
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Interest due
The majority of Eurobonds pay an annual coupon. In principle, the investor receives 1/365 of this annual coupon for every day he/she holds a bond.We will now imagine that the investor buys a bond on a secondary market, and that the bond's annual coupon will be paid in 7 months. In other words, 5 months have passed since the last coupon was paid. The bond has therefore already produced interest over 5 months. This interest is due to the seller of the bond, and must therefore be paid by the buyer of the bond. The buyer will receive the entirety of the coupon on its payment date (in the next 7 months).
The interest due is calculated by applying a fraction to the coupon amount, as follows: the fraction numerator is equal to the number of days' interest due, and the denominator equals the number of days in one year. This fraction (also called the "accrual basis") may vary from one bond to another. The most common types of accrual basis are :
- ACT/ACT : the numerator is equal to the number of effective days between the date of the last coupon payment and its settlement date. The denominator is the number of effective days in one year (365 or 366).
- ACT/360 : the numerator is equal to the number of effective days between the date of the last coupon payment and its settlement date. The denominator is set on the basis of 360 days.
- 30/360 : it is agreed that every month contains 30 days
For example:
A bond has the following characteristics :- Its last coupon was paid on 23 February 2003
- The annual coupon is 6%
- The accrual basis used is ACT/ACT
An investor buys EUR 10,000 of this bond with a settlement date of 19 September 2003. The exact number of days between 23 February 2003 and 19 September 2003 is 208. The seller of this bond is therefore entitled to 6% x 10,000 x 208/365 = EUR 341.92 in payable interest. The buyer will therefore have to pay this sum to the seller. The buyer will receive the entirety of the coupon on 23 February 2004 (the date of the following coupon payment).
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Transaction rules: Euro-bonds (primary market)
1° Introduction
Bonds available on the website are the ones available on the primary market, which means new issues only.
2° Schedule
Transactions are possible between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. for an instant execution. Orders entered after 5 p.m. will be waiting for acceptance on the next trading day ('B' status) at 8.30 a.m. Then orders will be moved to 'W' status (waiting for execution) and will not be cancellable anymore.
3° Subscription modalities
The underwriting price is equal to the issue price, and the bonds can be ordered with or without physical delivery. Payable in EUR or other currencies.
4° Minimal quantity
The minimal amount to underwrite for is indicated on the web site for each bond (in the 'minimum' column). The total underwritten amount must always be a multiple of that minimum amount.
Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) D+3 London Stock Exchange D+3 Milan D+3 Xetra (Frankfurt) D+2 Switzerland D+3 Madrid D+2 OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) D+3 US markets D+2 Canadian markets D+2 European options D+1 US options D+1 Funds D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) Bonds D+2 Currency exchange D+1 -
Specifications of Eurobond platform (secondary market)
A. Operation of the Eurobond platform (secondary market)
1. Search engine
Using the search engine allows you to apply different filters.
- You can run a search based on the issuer's name or a part of their name
- The type of coupon – the majority will be fixed. More information is given under point 4
- The ISIN code: this is a unique international code
- Currency
- The Moody's rating; you will find a general summary of this rating below
- The group maturity date
If your choice of bond is not included on the list, you can contact our bond desk on 02/679 90 99
2. Description of the bond and bond issuer
When you click on a bond from the results listed by the search function, you will see a detailed description of that bond:
- the full name of the issuer
- the ISIN code
You will find some information about the price:
- Bid (sale) and ask (purchase). Please note: should the bid or ask be unavailable, we advise you to check the last price and to work with a limit order. The market maker will be alerted to this and will potentially be able to execute your limit order.
- The bid and ask quantities: these are the maximum nominal values that you can buy or sell online for a particular bond which is worth the price indicated.
- Yield on the sale price (ask yield) and on the purchase price (bid yield). This is an indication of the actuarial yield if you buy (ask yield) or sell (bid yield).
- Last price and amount: this price can serve as a reference in order to register a limit order.
- Closing price and yield on closing price: this price can also serve as a reference in order to register a limit order.
- Last update: displays the last updated price
In the second part, you will be given the following information:
- Coupon: shows the coupon you will obtain once the bond is part of your portfolio
- Currency: shows the currency of the bond
- Denomination: shows the minimum denomination for purchase
- Issue size: shows the total amount issued
- Number of days accrued
- Coupon frequency: in the majority of cases, the coupon is paid annually (frequency of 1), but in the case of certain other bonds, the coupon is paid twice annually (frequency of 2) or even quarterly (frequency of 4)
- Type of coupon: several types are possible, the most common being the fixed. The different types of coupons will be detailed later in this document
- Day Count: the method used to calculate interest
- Guarantor: the company that guarantees the bond
- Maturity date: the bond's maturity date
3. Rating
It is possible to obtain a rating for the bonds available through our site. The rating given is that attributed by Moody's. You must first sign a contract, and this can be done using your confirmation code.
Naturally, every investor is always looking for that impossible combination of "high level of security" and "high yield" for all of their investments. But unfortunately, security rarely equates with a high return. A high return is more often than not coupled with a high level of risk. This universal rule applies throughout the financial world, and this includes on the bond market.
The quality of an issuer is often expressed through its rating, which gives an indication of its level of solvency. The following question then arises: "How can the bondholder (the investor) be sure that the issuer will honour all of his commitments?" In addition to making regular interest payments, the issuer must be in a position to repay the nominal value of the bond upon maturity.
There are several rating agencies all pursuing the same objective, which is to assess the solvency of issuers on the bond market. The most well known of these are Standard & Poors (S&P) and Moody's.
Following an in-depth analysis of the issuers, these agencies award them a credit rating, which is an indication of the issuers' level of solvency. An AAA rating awarded to an issuer by Standard & Poors is an indication that this issuer is very solvent indeed. The equivalent of the S&P AAA rating is the Aaa rating from Moody's.
Bonds with a rating of lower than BBB (S&P classification) or Baa3 (Moody's classification) are generally considered to be speculative grade bonds.
Moody's
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Aaa
Bonds which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as "gilt edged." Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues. -
Aa1 - Aa3
Bonds which are rated Aas are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high-grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risk appear somewhat larger than the Aaa securities. -
A1 - A3
Bonds which are rated A possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper-medium-grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate, but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment some time in the future. -
Baa1 - Baa3
Bonds which are rated Baa are considered as medium-grade obligations (i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured). Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well. -
Ba1 - Ba3
Bonds which are rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements; their future cannot be considered as well assured. Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate, and thereby not well safeguarded during both good and bad times over the future. Uncertainty of position characterizes bonds in this class. -
B1 - B3
Bonds which are rated B generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment. Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small. -
Caa1 - Caa3
Bonds which are rated Caa are of poor standing. Such issues may be in default or there may be present elements of danger with respect to principal or interest. -
Ca
Bonds which are rated Ca represent obligations which are speculative in a high degree. Such issues are often in default or have other marked shortcomings. -
C
Bonds which are rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds, and issues so rated can be regarded as having extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing. -
NR
Not rated.
Of course, a bond issued by a very good debtor (with a high rating such as AA or A2) will produce a lower yield than a bond with the same characteristics but whose issuer is in financial difficulty and consequently has a rating of B or B2, for example.
4. Diagrams
At the end, you will find two diagrams. the first of these shows the bond's price history during a particular period of time. By pressing the YTM button, you can see the bond's yield during that same period.
The second diagram shows the difference in yield compared to the swap rate. The swap rate is a deal to exchange two interest rate flows (one at a fixed rate, and the other a variable rate).
B. Information relating to bond negotiation
If you press the "trade" button, you will arrive on the orders screen.
Here, you will find the following information :- The seller (bid) and buyer (ask) yield: this shows the yield at sale or purchase.
- Bid/Ask: shows the bond's sale or purchase price.
Important note: Occasionally, the market maker is not present on the market. If this is the case, you will not receive a bid or ask. You are therefore recommended to work with a limited order, the limit being close to the last price you find on the order screen.
- Coupon frequency: shows the number of coupons per year.
- Bond maturity date.
- Denomination: the minimum investment in the bond.
- Guarantor: the party guaranteeing the bond
Keytrade Bank has opted to send orders to LuxNext and Euronext. These are regulated stock exchanges with several market makers. You can find out more by going to :
1. Accrued interest
The accrued interest is calculated on 100% of the nominal value. If you buy a bond, you must pay the accrued interest to the seller. If you sell a bond, you receive the accrued interest.
Here we display the accrued interest on an order executed today. As soon as you place an order, we calculate the accrued interest as of today's date. You can also place a GTD (Good Till Date) order with a maximum validity period of one month. If you choose this option, you will need to have more cash in your securities account, since for every day the order is not executed, an extra day's interest accrues. The amount debited/credited will be broken down on the order note.
2. Settlement date
As is the case on the Euronext equity market, bond transactions are in principle liquidated 3 days after the transaction date. Your cash assets will therefore be credited using this settlement date (sale date) or debited (purchase date).
We will try to provide the most precise answers possible on this topic and those that follow. We would like to give you an overview of the basic principles of investing in bonds. However, for more information, we advise you to undertake further reading.
- the issuer's country of domicile
- the sector and sectoral group to which the issuer belongs
- the rating and solvency stated by Moody's
3. Information about the bond issue
- The bond ISIN code and symbol. The ISIN code is the international standard for designating a financial instrument.
- Bond currency
- Collateral – type (guarantee and hierarchy)
- Senior: means this is a conventional type of bond which is not subordinated.
- Unsecured: the bond is not secured by any specific guarantee. Debt secured by collateral is the most widespread type of senior debt.
- Subordinated: this is a bond which is subordinated. In the event of a credit incident such as bankruptcy, these bonds will be repaid after the senior debt. These bonds are therefore very risky in cases where the issuer is experiencing credit difficulties.
- Asset backed: these obligations are guaranteed by particular assets
- Company guaranteed: the bond loan is guaranteed by another company (often the parent company of a multinational).
- Bank guaranteed: the bond is guaranteed by a bank (often in the case of a bank belonging to a bank holding company).
- (Foreign) government guaranteed: the bond is guaranteed by a (foreign) government.
4. Coupon
- The coupon is annual. If payments are made quarterly, the quarterly coupon will be equal to a quarter of the designated annual coupon.
- Frequency of coupon payments.
- In the majority of cases, the coupon is paid annually (frequency of 1), but for certain other bonds, the coupon is paid twice annually (frequency of 2) or even quarterly (frequency of 4).
- Coupon type:
- Fixed: the coupon is fixed for the entire life of the bond
- Floating: the coupon is floating, and is in principle adjusted at every coupon payment date. This coupon is often linked to a benchmark interest rate such as the Euribor or Libor. This benchmark will be explained in the box entitled "secondary description".
- Zero: the coupon amount is zero, and so the bond is a zero-rate bond.
- Step-up: the coupon increases after each coupon payment. Details of this type of coupon will be given in the box entitled "secondary description".
- Variable: the coupon is variable and can depend on a large number of factors, e.g. a stock market index. The coupon may also fluctuate within a pre-determined range. Details of this type of coupon will be given in the box entitled "secondary description".
Warning: Step-up and variable bonds are complex instruments and we do not recommend them to inexperienced investors!
- Existence of a put option: if the bond has a put option attached, this means that the bondholder can, in certain circumstances before maturity, ask the issuer to repay the bond loan early (more details on this subject will be provided later).
- Existence of a call option: if the bond has a call option attached, this means the issuer can, in certain circumstances before maturity, repay the bond early (more details will be given on this subject in the box entitled "secondary description".
- Secondary description: all further information of use is provided here (in English, and with abbreviations)!
5. Information about bond negotiation.
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Minimum transaction quantity
- This is the minimum quantity accepted by Keytrade Bank for a trade in this bond. This figure is always expressed in the currency of the bond. A minimum transaction amount of 1,000 therefore means that the bonds can only be negotiated in multiples of a nominal value of EUR 1,000 (with a minimum stake of EUR 1,000).
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Trade settlement date
- As is the case on the Euronext equity market, bond transactions are in principle liquidated 3 business days after the transaction date. On this settlement date, your liquid assets will either be credited (if you are selling) or debited (purchasing).
- Date of next coupon
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Accrued interest on a nominal value of 100
- If you buy a bond, you will have to pay the accrued interest to the seller. If you sell a bond, you will receive the accrued interest. Here we will indicate the total amount of accrued interest if you execute the transaction today. The indication is always based on a nominal value of 100: for example, you have EUR 10,000 of a particular bond and the accrued interest for 100 amounts to 3.4551. This means that if you sell this bond today, you will receive EUR 345.51 in accrued interest. This amount must be paid by the buyer.
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Method used to calculate accrued interest
- This figure is given purely for the purposes of information
- Please refer to the "basic principles"
6. Information on price
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The seller (bid) and buyer (ask) price
- Prices are always expressed in the form of a percentage of the nominal value that you wish to buy. Accrued interest is never included in the price!
- The ask price is the price at which you can sell the bond
- The bid price is the price at which you can buy the bond
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2. The maximum quantity for which these bid and ask prices are valid.
- These are the maximum nominal values that you can buy or sell online for a particular bond which is worth the price indicated.
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If you would like to negotiate a larger amount, two options are available:
- You can call our trading desk +32(0)2/679.90.99
- Or you can split your trade into several parts. However, there is no guarantee that this method will enable you to reach the desired quantity; everything depends on the market situation at that precise point in time.
- 3. Yield on the sale price (ask yield) and on the purchase price (bid yield).
7. The trading window
During the trading window, you enter the transaction which you subscribe to using your electronic signature.
8. Executing a trade
Your order to trade must be transmitted via the trading window, allowing you to specify:
- Buy or sell
- The nominal value you wish to negotiate (in the currency of the bond issue)
- The currency in which you wish to be debited or credited If you wish, therefore, you can pay for a bond in US Dollars in euros.
Once you have entered your trade, you will receive a summary and breakdown showing the total amount of the transaction. It is important to bear in mind that the value of the trade can be very different to the nominal value.
For example:
A bond is listed at 107.15 - 107.35
The accrued interest is 2.455
You buy EUR 5,000 of this bond
The transaction value will be calculated as follows:Principal : 5,000 *107.35% = EUR 5367.50 Interest due:2.455*5000/100 = EUR 122.75 Sub-total : = EUR 5490.25 Fees 0.20% (minimum EUR 29.95) EUR 29.95 Stamp duty on stock market transactions 0.09% EUR 3.84 Total : EUR 5524.04 9. Opening times
Opening times are from 9am to 5pm.
- Keytrade Pro
-
Futures
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Introduction
It is only possible to deal on the First Market (Premier Marché) (warrants and shares), which includes the forward market and the cash market. The forward market is reserved for the most liquid shares, and is divided into two segments (the continual market and semi-continual market), while the cash market addresses the smallest capitalisations, which are only quoted twice a day (double fixing).
Opening times
Group Equities | Continuous Equities | Double fixing Equities | Continuous Warrants | Double fixing |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 | 07:15 | 07:15 | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:00 | 11:30 | 09:05 | 12:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | 17:30 | 12:00 | - | - |
Fixing(2) | 17:35 | 16:30 | - | 17:00 |
Session(2) | TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) | - | - | - |
Closing | 17:40 | 17:00 | 17:30 | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:40 | 17:00 | 17:30 | 17:30 |
(*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Continuous Equities | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | 17:30 |
Fixing(2) | 17:35 |
Session(2) | TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) |
Closing | 17:40 |
Shut down | 17:40 |
(*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Double fixing Equities | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 11:30 |
Pre-opening(2) | 12:00 |
Fixing(2) | 16:30 |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:00 |
Shut down | 17:00 |
Continuous Warrants | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:05 |
Pre-opening(2) | - |
Fixing(2) | - |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:30 |
Double fixing | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 12:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | - |
Fixing(2) | 17:00 |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:30 |
Types of orders allowed
1° Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the order book as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the order book. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
Market orders are only accepted for the continual segment of the forward market (groups A0, A1, A2, A3, A4). They can be placed while the stock exchange session is "open" (see opening times).
When placing market orders, the "price" field should be left empty.
2° Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
Limit orders can be placed both on the cash and forward markets.
When creating a limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a market order (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
When creating a Stop order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment
€ 98 . You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sellorder with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a marketorder that will be executed against marketprice.
We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed. We recommend to use this type of order rather than a regular Stop order as it is safer in turbulent market conditions.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
When creating a Stop limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sellorder. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.
5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
The reference price for the trailing stop orders comes always from Euronext never from Equiduct.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
6° 'Iceberg' order
'Iceberg' orders allow the execution of high volume orders without displaying the total quantity of that order (to gain efficiency). 'Iceberg' orders need to be showing at least 10 times the minimum trading unit of the stock concerned.
This type of order is well adapted for illiquid stocks (low volume).
For instance, you can sell 10.000 shares by displaying only 1.000 at a time. Every time 1.000 pieces will be executed, another 1.000 will be displayed in the order book (you do, however, lose your priority if another seller comes and places a sell order at the same limit. This would not be the case if you would sell the 10.000 shares in one block).
'Iceberg' orders are only compatible with limit orders.
7° Stop on quote order
A stop on quote order can only be used for warrants and turbo’s.
This type of order can be compared to a stop order.
The stop price you introduce must be higher than the ask of the liquidity provider (to buy) or lower than the bid of the liquidity provider (to sell).
The most important difference is that such an order is not activated on the last quote, but on the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider for the warrant of turbo.
A limit order of a private investor will not activate your stop on quote order. Only the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider can activate it.
A liquidity provider is a professional is always present ion the market to ensure the liquidity of the product. You recognize a liquidity provider by a large volume and equal bid and ask.
When creating a Stop On Quote order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
8° ALL or NONE' orders (AON)
Euronext does not allow orders of the type ' All Or None' (AON) any more.
This order type is only available on the US markets.
“Collar Logic” mechanism
NYSE Euronext works with Collar Logic to protect investors, while avoiding blocking trades.
With Collar Logic, NYSE Euronext defines two thresholds (= the collar) between which trades can take place. The level of the thresholds adapts automatically to the last price traded. You can view the Collar on the secure site, on the page with detailed price information, under “price margin”.
When you enter an order with a limit that is outside the Collar, you will receive a warning that tells you your limit is outside the Collar. Nevertheless, you can confirm your order (by introducing your confirmation code), a confirmation message will then automatically be sent to Euronext and your order will be executed outside of the Collar.
When you introduce a market order, you will receive no warning and your order can be executed outside of the Collar.
Orders that are in the order book for a period longer than 30 seconds and that are matched outside of the Collar will be rejected by Euronext. This can only happen due to a sudden price movement, where the match price is outside of the Collar.
When an order is partially executed, the remaining part will be cancelled in case of a next match outside of the Collar.
Instruments with a fixing, ETF’s and Trackers have no Collar Logic mechanism.
You can find more information on the Collar Logic mechanism here.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 365 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Introduction
It is only possible to deal on the First Market (Premier Marché) (warrants and shares), which includes the forward market and the cash market. The forward market is reserved for the most liquid shares, and is divided into two segments (the continual market and semi-continual market), while the cash market addresses the smallest capitalisations, which are only quoted twice a day (double fixing).
Opening times
Group Equities | Continuous Equities | Double fixing Equities | Continuous Warrants | Double fixing |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 | 07:15 | 07:15 | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:00 | 11:30 | 09:05 | 12:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | 17:30 | 12:00 | - | - |
Fixing(2) | 17:35 | 16:30 | - | 17:00 |
Session(2) | TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) | - | - | - |
Closing | 17:40 | 17:00 | 17:30 | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:40 | 17:00 | 17:30 | 17:30 |
(*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Continuous Equities | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | 17:30 |
Fixing(2) | 17:35 |
Session(2) | TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) |
Closing | 17:40 |
Shut down | 17:40 |
(*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Double fixing Equities | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 11:30 |
Pre-opening(2) | 12:00 |
Fixing(2) | 16:30 |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:00 |
Shut down | 17:00 |
Continuous Warrants | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:05 |
Pre-opening(2) | - |
Fixing(2) | - |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:30 |
Double fixing | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 12:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | - |
Fixing(2) | 17:00 |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:30 |
Types of orders allowed
1° Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the order book as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the order book. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
Market orders are only accepted for the continual segment of the forward market (groups A0, A1, A2, A3, A4). They can be placed while the stock exchange session is "open" (see opening times).
When placing market orders, the "price" field should be left empty.
2° Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
Limit orders can be placed both on the cash and forward markets.
When creating a limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a market order (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
When creating a Stop order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment
€ 98 . You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sellorder with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a marketorder that will be executed against marketprice.
We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed. We recommend to use this type of order rather than a regular Stop order as it is safer in turbulent market conditions.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
When creating a Stop limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sellorder. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.
5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
The reference price for the trailing stop orders comes always from Euronext never from Equiduct.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
6° 'Iceberg' order
'Iceberg' orders allow the execution of high volume orders without displaying the total quantity of that order (to gain efficiency). 'Iceberg' orders need to be showing at least 10 times the minimum trading unit of the stock concerned.
This type of order is well adapted for illiquid stocks (low volume).
For instance, you can sell 10.000 shares by displaying only 1.000 at a time. Every time 1.000 pieces will be executed, another 1.000 will be displayed in the order book (you do, however, lose your priority if another seller comes and places a sell order at the same limit. This would not be the case if you would sell the 10.000 shares in one block).
'Iceberg' orders are only compatible with limit orders.
7° Stop on quote order
A stop on quote order can only be used for warrants and turbo’s.
This type of order can be compared to a stop order.
The stop price you introduce must be higher than the ask of the liquidity provider (to buy) or lower than the bid of the liquidity provider (to sell).
The most important difference is that such an order is not activated on the last quote, but on the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider for the warrant of turbo.
A limit order of a private investor will not activate your stop on quote order. Only the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider can activate it.
A liquidity provider is a professional is always present ion the market to ensure the liquidity of the product. You recognize a liquidity provider by a large volume and equal bid and ask.
When creating a Stop On Quote order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
8° ALL or NONE' orders (AON)
Euronext does not allow orders of the type ' All Or None' (AON) any more.
This order type is only available on the US markets.
“Collar Logic” mechanism
NYSE Euronext works with Collar Logic to protect investors, while avoiding blocking trades.
With Collar Logic, NYSE Euronext defines two thresholds (= the collar) between which trades can take place. The level of the thresholds adapts automatically to the last price traded. You can view the Collar on the secure site, on the page with detailed price information, under “price margin”.
When you enter an order with a limit that is outside the Collar, you will receive a warning that tells you your limit is outside the Collar. Nevertheless, you can confirm your order (by introducing your confirmation code), a confirmation message will then automatically be sent to Euronext and your order will be executed outside of the Collar.
When you introduce a market order, you will receive no warning and your order can be executed outside of the Collar.
Orders that are in the order book for a period longer than 30 seconds and that are matched outside of the Collar will be rejected by Euronext. This can only happen due to a sudden price movement, where the match price is outside of the Collar.
When an order is partially executed, the remaining part will be cancelled in case of a next match outside of the Collar.
Instruments with a fixing, ETF’s and Trackers have no Collar Logic mechanism.
You can find more information on the Collar Logic mechanism here.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 365 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Opening times
Group Equities | Continuous Equities | Double fixing Equities | Continuous Warrants | Double fixing |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 | 07:15 | 07:15 | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:00 | 11:30 | 09:05 | 12:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | 17:30 | 12:00 | - | - |
Fixing(2) | 17:35 | 16:30 | - | 17:00 |
Session(2) | TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) | - | - | - |
Closing | 17:40 | 17:00 | 17:30 | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:40 | 17:00 | 17:30 | 17:30 |
(*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Continuous Equities | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | 17:30 |
Fixing(2) | 17:35 |
Session(2) | TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) |
Closing | 17:40 |
Shut down | 17:40 |
(*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Double fixing Equities | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 11:30 |
Pre-opening(2) | 12:00 |
Fixing(2) | 16:30 |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:00 |
Shut down | 17:00 |
Continuous Warrants | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:05 |
Pre-opening(2) | - |
Fixing(2) | - |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:30 |
Double fixing | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 12:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | - |
Fixing(2) | 17:00 |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:30 |
Types of order allowed
1° Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the order book as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the order book. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
When introducing a market order, leave the 'price' field empty.
2° Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but naturally gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
When creating a Limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a marketorder (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
When creating a Stop order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment
€ 98 . You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sellorder with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a marketorder that will be executed against marketprice.
We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed. We recommend to use this type of order rather than a regular Stop order as it is safer in turbulent market conditions.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
When creating a Stop limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sell order. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.
Remark
On the Paris market, the difference between stop price and limit price for a stop limit orders must be a multiple of 0,1 with a minimum of 0,1
5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
The reference price for the trailing stop orders comes always from Euronext never from Equiduct.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
6° 'Iceberg' order
'Iceberg' orders allow the execution of high volume orders without displaying the total quantity of that order (to gain efficiency). 'Iceberg' orders need to be showing at least 10 times the minimum trading unit of the stock concerned.
This type of order is well adapted for illiquid stocks (low volume).
For instance, you can sell 10.000 shares by displaying only 1.000 at a time. Every time 1.000 pieces will be executed, another 1.000 will be displayed in the order book (you do, however, lose your priority if another seller comes and places a sell order at the same limit. This would not be the case if you would sell the 10.000 shares in one block).
'Iceberg' orders are only compatible with limit orders.
7° Stop on quote order
A stop on quote order can only be used for warrants and turbo’s.
This type of order can be compared to a stop order.
The stop price you introduce must be higher than the ask of the liquidity provider (to buy) or lower than the bid of the liquidity provider (to sell).
The most important difference is that such an order is not activated on the last quote, but on the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider for the warrant of turbo.
A limit order of a private investor will not activate your stop on quote order. Only the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider can activate it.
A liquidity provider is a professional is always present ion the market to ensure the liquidity of the product. You recognize a liquidity provider by a large volume and equal bid and ask.
When creating a Stop On Quote order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
8° ALL or NONE' orders (AON)
Euronext does not allow orders of the type ' All Or None' (AON) any more.
This order type is only available on the US markets.
“Collar Logic” mechanism
NYSE Euronext works with Collar Logic to protect investors, while avoiding blocking trades.
With Collar Logic, NYSE Euronext defines two thresholds (= the collar) between which trades can take place. The level of the thresholds adapts automatically to the last price traded. You can view the Collar on the secure site, on the page with detailed price information, under “price margin”.
When you enter an order with a limit that is outside the Collar, you will receive a warning that tells you your limit is outside the Collar. Nevertheless, you can confirm your order (by introducing your confirmation code), a confirmation message will then automatically be sent to Euronext and your order will be executed outside of the Collar.
When you introduce a market order, you will receive no warning and your order can be executed outside of the Collar.
Orders that are in the order book for a period longer than 30 seconds and that are matched outside of the Collar will be rejected by Euronext. This can only happen due to a sudden price movement, where the match price is outside of the Collar.
When an order is partially executed, the remaining part will be cancelled in case of a next match outside of the Collar.
Instruments with a fixing, ETF’s and Trackers have no Collar Logic mechanism.
You can find more information on the Collar Logic mechanism here.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 365 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
All orders will be routed to Equiduct except for the orders that are sent just before the market open (9h00) and orders that are sent in just before the market close (17h30), during this short time frames the orders will be sent to the home market (Euronext)
From a certain order size – that varies per instrument – the optimal best execution can not be guaranteed on Equiduct, these orders will be sent automatically to Euronext.
For more information please have a look at our best execution policy.
1° Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the order book as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the order book. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
When placing market orders, the "price" field should be left empty.
2° Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
Limit orders can be placed both on the cash and forward markets.
When creating a market order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a market order (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
When creating a Stop order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sell order with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a market order that will be executed against market price.
We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
The stop price can be activated when the stop price is hit on the reference markets or Equiduct like for example; Euronext, CHI-X etc.. or it can be hit on Equiduct itself (Hybridbook).
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
When creating a Stop Limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sell order. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.
5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
The reference price for the trailing stop orders comes always from Euronext never from Equiduct.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 90 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Opening times
Amsterdam is open from 9.00 am till 5.35 pm.
- The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8.30 am onward, but remain in "Wait" status until 9.00 am.
- Day orders accepted by euronext on that trading day are cancelled at 6.15 pm.
- Orders placed after 5.40 pm are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
Group Equities | Continuous Equities | Double fixing Equities | Continuous Warrants | Double fixing |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 | 07:15 | 07:15 | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:00 | 11:30 | 09:05 | 12:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | 17:30 | 12:00 | - | - |
Fixing(2) | 17:35 | 16:30 | - | 17:00 |
Session(2) | TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) | - | - | - |
Closing | 17:40 | 17:00 | 17:30 | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:40 | 17:00 | 17:30 | 17:30 |
(*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Continuous Equities | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | 17:30 |
Fixing(2) | 17:35 |
Session(2) | TAL(*) (17:35-17:40) |
Closing | 17:40 |
Shut down | 17:40 |
(*) TAL = 'Trading At last Price'
Double fixing Equities | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 11:30 |
Pre-opening(2) | 12:00 |
Fixing(2) | 16:30 |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:00 |
Shut down | 17:00 |
Continuous Warrants | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 09:05 |
Pre-opening(2) | - |
Fixing(2) | - |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:30 |
Double fixing | |
---|---|
Pre-opening | 07:15 |
Fixing | 12:00 |
Pre-opening(2) | - |
Fixing(2) | 17:00 |
Session(2) | - |
Closing | 17:30 |
Shut down | 17:30 |
Types of orders and quantities allowed
1° Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell securities immediately at the best price available on the market. It gives you no guarantee on the final price of the transaction (especially if there is high activity in the security), but on the other hand there is a greater probability that your order will be executed. If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty.
2° Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
When you place orders via Keytrade Bank, you cannot indicate a price which differs by more than 40% from the last price.
When creating a Limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Remark
Orders of less than 100 shares have no influence on the bid and ask price.
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a market order (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
When creating a Stop order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sell order with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a market order that will be executed against market price.
We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
When creating a Stop Limit order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sell order. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.
5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
The reference price for the trailing stop orders comes always from Euronext never from Equiduct.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
6° 'Iceberg' order
'Iceberg' orders allow the execution of high volume orders without displaying the total quantity of that order (to gain efficiency). 'Iceberg' orders need to be showing at least 10 times the minimum trading unit of the stock concerned.
This type of order is well adapted for illiquid stocks (low volume).
For instance, you can sell 10.000 shares by displaying only 1.000 at a time. Every time 1.000 pieces will be executed, another 1.000 will be displayed in the order book (you do, however, lose your priority if another seller comes and places a sell order at the same limit. This would not be the case if you would sell the 10.000 shares in one block).
'Iceberg' orders are only compatible with limit orders.
7° Stop on quote order
A stop on quote order can only be used for warrants and turbo’s.
This type of order can be compared to a stop order.
The stop price you introduce must be higher than the ask of the liquidity provider (to buy) or lower than the bid of the liquidity provider (to sell).
The most important difference is that such an order is not activated on the last quote, but on the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider for the warrant of turbo.
A limit order of a private investor will not activate your stop on quote order. Only the best bid or ask of the liquidity provider can activate it.
A liquidity provider is a professional is always present ion the market to ensure the liquidity of the product. You recognize a liquidity provider by a large volume and equal bid and ask.
You can also give an additional limit when you place a stop on quote + limit order. This type of order can be compared to a stop limit order.
When creating a Stop On Quote order, it is important to take into account the tick size. For more information about the tick size, click here.
8° ALL or NONE' orders (AON)
Euronext does not allow orders of the type ' All Or None' (AON) any more.
This order type is only available on the US markets.
“Collar Logic” mechanism
NYSE Euronext works with Collar Logic to protect investors, while avoiding blocking trades.
With Collar Logic, NYSE Euronext defines two thresholds (= the collar) between which trades can take place. The level of the thresholds adapts automatically to the last price traded. You can view the Collar on the secure site, on the page with detailed price information, under “price margin”.
When you enter an order with a limit that is outside the Collar, you will receive a warning that tells you your limit is outside the Collar. Nevertheless, you can confirm your order (by introducing your confirmation code), a confirmation message will then automatically be sent to Euronext and your order will be executed outside of the Collar.
When you introduce a market order, you will receive no warning and your order can be executed outside of the Collar.
Orders that are in the order book for a period longer than 30 seconds and that are matched outside of the Collar will be rejected by Euronext. This can only happen due to a sudden price movement, where the match price is outside of the Collar.
When an order is partially executed, the remaining part will be cancelled in case of a next match outside of the Collar.
Instruments with a fixing, ETF’s and Trackers have no Collar Logic mechanism.
You can find more information on the Collar Logic mechanism here.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 365 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+3 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Keytrade Bank offers online access to the SIX Swiss Exchange.
The SIX Swiss Exchange is the market where you can trade Swiss and international shares.
SIX Swiss Exchange has been created as a real response to the ever-growing demand from both the investment and corporate communities for a pan-European blue chip. You can trade bleu chips (Swiss as well as international).
Opening times
De SIX Swiss Exchange is open from 9 a.m. till 5.30 p.m.
SIX Swiss Exchange is open from 9 a.m. till 5.30 p.m.
The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8 a.m. onward, but remain in "Wait" status until 9.00 a.m.
Day orders are cancelled at 5.30 p.m.
Orders placed after 5.30 p.m. are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
Types of orders allowed
1° Market order
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell securities immediately at the best price available on the market. It gives you no guarantee on the final price of the transaction (especially if there is high activity in the security), but on the other hand there is a greater probability that your order will be executed. If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty.
2° Limit order
A limit order is an order at a certain price and certain quantity, which can be executed in total or partially. If there is a partial execution the non-executed part remains in the order book.
It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
For example, with a sell order the limit price is the minimum price at which you are prepared to sell, your order will not be executed at a lower price. When you want to place a limit order, you need to fill in the field "price".
3° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last).
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, then it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled - Valable jusqu'à annulation) Your order will be valid for 90 days. If the date you introduced is a holiday, your order will be valid till the closure of the working day after the holiday. You, the stock market or Keytrade Bank can cancel the orders.
Remark 1:
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2:
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Tick sizes of the market
Blue Chips | |
---|---|
0,0001-0,4999 | 0,0001 |
0,5-0,9995 | 0,0005 |
1-4,999 | 0,001 |
5-9,995 | 0,005 |
10-49,99 | 0,01 |
50-99,95 | 0,05 |
100-499,9 | 0,1 |
500-999,9 | 0,5 |
1000-4999 | 1 |
5000-9995 | 5 |
>10000 | 10 |
Mid-and Small Caps | |
---|---|
0,01-0,99 | 0,01 |
10-99,95 | 0,05 |
100-249,9 | 0,10 |
250-499,75 | 0,25 |
500-999,5 | 0,5 |
1000-4999 | 1 |
>5000 | 5 |
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Remark 3:
If you enter a limit order, your limit may not diverge too much from the last price. If you don’t respect this rule, your order will be rejected. In the diagram below, you find the authorized deviation compared to the stock price.
Stock price | authorized deviation |
---|---|
0.01-0.05 | 300 % |
0.06-0.25 | 150 % |
0.26-0.5 | 60 % |
0.51-1 | 30 % |
1.01-5 | 20 % |
5.01-100 | 10 % |
>100 | 8 % |
Opening times
Xetra is open from 9 am till 5.30 pm.
Types of order and quantities allowed
1° Market order
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell securities immediately at the best price available on the market. It gives you no guarantee on the final price of the transaction (especially if there is high activity in the security), but on the other hand there is a greater probability that your order will be executed. If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty.
2° Limit order
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when purchasing and selling, but of course gives no guarantee regarding the execution of the order.
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a marketorder (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!)
As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sellorder with as stop € 95. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a marketorder that will be executed against marketprice.
We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed. We recommend to use this type of order rather than a regular Stop order as it is safer in turbulent market conditions.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
Example
You bought a share at € 100, that quotes at the moment € 98. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sellorder. With as stop € 95 and as limit € 93. This means that if the share quote drops till € 95, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with € 93 as limit.
5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 90 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Tick sizes of the market
Stocks | |
---|---|
0-9,999 | 0,001 EUR |
10-49,995 | 0,005 EUR |
50-99,99 | 0,01 EUR |
100+ | 0,05 EUR |
ETF’s | |
---|---|
0-4,999 | 0,001 EUR |
5-9,999 | 0,005 EUR |
10+ | 0,01 EUR |
Remark
When a dayorder partially gets executed during a tradingday, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Remark 3
If you enter a limit order, your limit may not diverge too much from the last price. If you don’t respect this rule, your order will be rejected. In the diagram below, you find the authorized deviation compared to the stock price.
Stock price | authorized deviation |
---|---|
0.01-0.05 | 300 % |
0.06-0.25 | 150 % |
0.26-0.5 | 60 % |
0.51-1 | 30 % |
1.01-5 | 20 % |
5.01-100 | 10 % |
>100 | 8 % |
Keytrade Bank offers online access to the SETS (Stock Exchange Trading System).
The Stock Exchange Trading System - SETS is an electronic limit order book used to trade blue-chip stocks including all FTSE 100 and all UK FTSE Eurotop 300 stocks plus those with traded options.
Opening times
The London Stock Exchange is open from 8 am until 4.30 pm CET
On the Sets the continuous trading period is preceded by a 10 minutes auction time and by a 5 minutes time auction closing period.
Type of order allowed
1° Market order
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the orderbook as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the orderbook. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
When introducing a market order, leave the 'price' field empty.
2° Limit order
An order submitted to our trading system with a specified size and price which is either held on our trading system or executes, either in part or in full, against eligible orders with any remaining unexecuted portion being added to the order book.
3° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last) Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives.
Stamp-duty
On buy orders on the London Stock Exchange there is a stamp duty of 0,50% of the nominal amount.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, then it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a day order after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled - Valable jusqu'à annulation) Your order will be valid for 90 days. If the date you introduced is a holiday, your order will be valid till the closure of the working day after the holiday. You, the stock market or Keytrade Bank can cancel the orders.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Opening times
The italian market is open from 9.00 am till 5.40 pm.
The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8 am onward, but remain in "Wait" status until 9.00 am.
Day orders are cancelled at 5.45 pm.
Orders placed after 5.40 pm are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
Types of orders and quantities allowed
1° Limit order
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when buying and selling, but of course gives no guarantee concerning the execution of the order.
When you place orders via Keytrade Bank, you cannot indicate a price which differs by more than 40% from the last price.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 30 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Attention: Every third friday of the month, all pending orders (totally or partially unexecuted) will be cancelled by the Italian Exchange if their limit is 10% higher or lower than the last price traded on the stock.
When a dayorder partially gets executed during a tradingday, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions. Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Opening times
The Spanish market is open from 9 a.m. till 5.30 p.m.
The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8.30 a.m. onward, but remain in "Wait" status until 9 a.m. Day orders are cancelled at 5.45 p.m. Orders placed after 5.40 p.m. are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
Trading
Continuous trading: eight and a half hours (9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) for proposals and trades, 30 minutes for adjusting positions (8:30a.m. to 9a.m.) and 5 minutes for the closing auction.
Two kinds of trading are possible within principal trading:
1° General
Trading from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The most liquid shares use this system.
2° New Market
Trading from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. This system is used by technology sector companies (product or level of productive process), with an economic cycle or potential market subject to the uncertainty of the novel.
3° Fixing
Used for less liquid stocks in the Spanish Stock Market Interconnection System. All buy and sell orders are grouped together twice during the session (at 12 a.m. and 4 p.m.) so as to reduce volatility and make pricing of these stocks more efficient.
Type of order allowed
1° Market order
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the orderbook as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the orderbook. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question.
When introducing a market order, leave the 'price' field empty.
2° Limit order
An order submitted to our trading system with a specified size and price which is either held on our trading system or executes, either in part or in full, against eligible orders with any remaining unexecuted portion being added to the order book.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 30 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark
When a day order partially gets executed during a tradingday, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Remark 2
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Opening times
The US markets are open from 3.30 pm till 10 pm (GMT-5 local time). See also Extended hour trading.
Types of order allowed
1° Market order
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at any price. The final price is therefore not guaranteed (especially if there is a high activity in the security), but on the other hand there is a greater probability that your order will be executed.
If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty.
Market orders cannot be placed on the OTC-BB.
Initial Public Offering (IPO): before the first trading of the share, it is not possible either to place a market order.
Last but not least: a market order in combination with a GTC order (validity of the order) is not accepted.
2° Limit order
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when purchasing and selling, but of course gives no guarantee regarding the execution of the order.
Example
if you want to sell, your limit is the minimum price against which you want to sell. If the quotation is below your limit, your order will not be executed.
When placing a limited order, you do fill in the "price" field.
In order to understand clearly when to use a limit order, it is important to know that with the exception of the NYSE, the US markets are managed by market makers charged with assuring liquidity. They take positions for both purchasing and selling the securities they are responsible for, where their margin is the difference between BID & ASK. That means for a limit order to be executed, it is not sufficient for the limit to be reached during the session, but it is absolutely necessary for the market maker to have been positioned. This means that if you place a buy order, your limit should reach the ASK price for your order to be executed.
From October 3rd 2016 on , some stocks quoted on Nasdaq or NYSE will trade with a tick size of 0.05. Orders with a limit of eg 20.03 will be rejected by the exchange. The limit should be 20 or 20.05. The list of actions that meet this rule is available on the following links:
- http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=TickPilot
- ftp://ftp.nyxdata.com/Tick_Pilot/Tick_Pilot_Historical/
3° Stop orders
A stop order is a market price order, where you decide at which quote your order becomes a marketorder (Please note: This is therefore not an order limited to the specified stop price!) As soon as the share price has reached or passed the specified stop price, your order will be transformed into a market order. There is a high probability of execution, but you have no guarantee on price. These orders are valid both when selling and buying.
Example
You bought a share at 100 USD, that quotes at the moment 98 USD. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop sellorder with as stop 95 USD. This means that if the share quote drops till 95 USD, your order will be activated and becomes a marketorder that will be executed against marketprice.
We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
Attention:
A stop order will be triggered if the bid or ask reaches your stop price for stocks trading on US markets like: NASDAQ, NYSE or AMEX
4° Stop limit orders
Stop Limit orders are similar to regular Stop orders in the way they are triggered. The difference is in the way they are executed: while a Stop order is launched "at market price" (and therefore does not allow any control over the execution price), a STOP Limit order is launched as a Limit order, the limit being determined when the order is placed. We recommend to use this type of order rather than a regular Stop order as it is safer in turbulent market conditions.
When placing a sell stop limit order, please keep in mind that your stop price and limit have to be below the BID price at the moment you place your order. When placing a buy stop limit order, your stop price and limit have to be above the ASK price at the moment you place your order.
Example
You bought a share at 100 USD, that quotes at the moment 98 USD. You wish to cover yourself against further loss. You place a stop limit sellorder. With as stop 95 USD and as limit 93 USD. This means that if the share quote drops till 95 USD, your order will be activated and becomes a sell limit order with 93 USD as limit.
Attention:
A stop limit order will be triggered when
- the bid or ask reaches your stop price (for orders on NASDAQ)
- the price of the latest executed order reaches your stop price (for orders on NYSE or AMEX)
When placing a stop limit order you need to consider the following rule when placing the order, all orders that do not comply to this rule will be rejected.
Stop Price | Limit Portion of the Stop Limit | Stop price parameters |
---|---|---|
Less or equal to $5 | Not more than 110% | 10% |
More than $5 but less or equal to $50 | Not more than 105% | 5% |
More than $50 | Not more than 103% | 3% |
For example; a sell order entered at $10 with a stop limit of $9 would be rejected. The $1 difference between $10 and $9 is greater than the 5% parameter for a $10 stop price. The stop limit would have to be $0.50 or less.
5° Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order
A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase
A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 365 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Tick sizes of the market
Stocks | |
---|---|
0-9,999 | 0,0001 EUR |
10-49,995 | 0,0005 EUR |
50-99,99 | 0,001 EUR |
100+ | 0,005 EUR |
ETF’s | |
---|---|
0-4,999 | 0,001 EUR |
5-9,999 | 0,005 EUR |
10+ | 0,01 EUR |
Remark
When a dayorder partially gets executed during a tradingday, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Opening times
The Canadian markets are open from 3.30 p.m. till 10 p.m. (GMT-5).
Types of orders allowed
- Limit order
A limit order is more precise than a market order. It makes it possible to set a limit both when purchasing and selling, but of course gives no guarantee regarding the execution of the order. Ex: if you want to sell, your limit is the minimum price against which you want to sell. If the quotation is below your limit, your order will not be executed. When placing a limited order, you do fill in the "price" field.
Quantity
On the Canadian markets, they work with `board lot' orders. A ‘board lot' order is an order which acts on a volume determined in advance.
The board lot size depends on the trading price of the security:
- The trading price per unit is lower than $ 0.10 - the board lot size is 1,000 units
- The trading price per unit is between $ 0.10 and $ 0.99 - the board lot size is of 500 units
- The trading price per unit is of $ 1.00 or more - the board lot size is of 100 units
Example
if you wish to buy an action X which is for the moment quoted at $ 0.90 and you give an order for 500 shares, then your order will be carried out at once.
If you carry out an order for 700 shares, then you will receive a first execution of 500 shares and 200 shares will remain on the market, even if those are in the same limit on the market as the trading price of the moment.
We recommend great prudence when placing such orders, since the distance between the bid and ask prices can be very large, especially for small shares. It is important to bear in mind that the order will be executed at the market price, and will not be limited in any way.
Duration of the validity of orders
It is possible to specify how long placed orders are to remain valid. There are two possibilities:
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 90 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
Remark 1
When a day order partially gets executed during a trading day, the remaining part that has not been executed yet will be cancelled at the end of the day. If you want the remaining part to be traded, you will have to enter a new order for the remaining part. For this new order a transaction fee will be counted. When placing a GTC order the remaining part of the order will still be valid on the market until it will be executed or cancelled. In this case you only pay one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions.
Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Remark 2
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
1° Opening times
The Stockholm market is open from 9.00 am till 5.25 pm CET (closing call 5.25 pm until 5.30 pm).
The Helsinki market is open from 9.00 am till 5.25 pm CET (closing call 5.25 pm until 5.30 pm).
The Copenhagen market is open from 9.00 am till 4.55 pm CET (closing call 4.55 pm until 5.00 pm).
The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8 am onwards, but remain in "Wait" status until 9 am.
Day orders are cancelled after closing of the market, at 5.45 pm. Orders placed after 5.40 pm are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
2° Currencies
The Stockholm market quotes in SEK.
The Helsinki market quotes in EUR.
The Copenhagen market quotes in DKK.
3° Types of orders and quantities allowed
1. Market orders
A market order makes allows to buy or sell securities at the best price available on the market. It gives no guarantee on the final execution price of the transaction (especially if there is high volatility). If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty.
Market orders can only be entered during the opening hours of OMX. During the closing hours of the market, you must use a limit order.
Remark : A market order on these markets is an IOC ( immediate-or-kill ) order. Your order will match directly with the best price on the other side of the order book. But if there is not enough volume at the best price, the remaining part of the order will be cancelled immediately.
A market order on Nasdaq OMX will be executed based only on the available volume of the best bid or ask.
What does this mean?
If your market order’s volume is bigger than what is available in the order book on the best bid or ask, it will be only partially executed. The remaining part of the order will be cancelled by the stock market itself.
The same logic applies to an automatic market order when a certain stop price has been reached in case of a stop order or a trailing stop order.
Example:
You are placing an order to buy 200 shares of a company listing on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. There are only 50 available at the best ask price. Consequently, your order will be executed partially (50 shares), the remaining 150 will be cancelled by the stock market itself.
2. Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order as you set a limit price a which you are ready to buy or sell. A limit order gives no guarantee as to execution of the order.
3. Trailing Stop orders
When placing a trailing stop order, you specify a 'distance to market’, instead of a limit or stop price.
If you are selling shares with a trailing stop order, your stop price will always follow the share’s last price upwards. The stop price can never go down. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes higher respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
For a trailing stop order on the buy side, your stop price follows the share’s last price downwards. The price can never go upwards. The initial reference price will be the current last price. Your stop price will then automatically follow the last price when it goes lower respecting the distance you specified. Your stop price is going to change intraday.
Once the stop price is reached, a market order is automatically sent to the market. This order is valid until the end of the current day. Caution: for illiquid shares, you may receive a bad price or even no execution at all!
An example of a sell order: A share quotes 100 euro. You place a trailing stop order to sell with a distance of 1. Your stop price is 99 euro. As long as the share does not fall to 99 euro, the sell order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price upward while keeping a distance of 1 euro. The stop price can never go down. When the price reaches a new high of 104 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 103 euro.
An example of a purchase: A share quotes 50 euro. You place a trailing stop order to buy with a distance of 0.5. Your stop price is 50.5 euro. As long as the share does not rise to 50.5 euros, the order will not be activated. The stop price will follow the share price down while maintaining a distance of 0.5 euro. The stop price can never rise. When the price reaches a new low of 45 euro, the new stop price will be adjusted to 45.5 euro.
During the continues phase on the market we will send a market order to the market when the stop price is reached, outside the continues faze we will send a limit order where the limit is the last traded price. (on Euronext this phase is known as the TAL period (Trading At Last)
Trailing stop orders are not possible for warrants, turbo’s and other derivatives
4° Validity of orders
It is possible to determine the validity of your orders :
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 90 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
When a day order gets executed partially, the remaining part of the order will be cancelled after market closing. If you want the remaining part to be executed as well, you will have to enter a new order, for which a full transaction fee will be debited.
When placing a GTC order, the remaining part of the order will remain valid on the market until complete execution or cancellation. You pay only one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions. Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Tick sizes of the market
Helsinki | |
---|---|
0,01 EUR |
Stockholm | |
---|---|
0,0001-0,4999 | 0,0001 |
0,5-0,9995 | 0,0005 |
1-4,999 | 0,001 |
5-9,995 | 0,005 |
10-49,99 | 0,01 |
50-99,95 | 0,05 |
100-499,9 | 0,1 |
500-999,9 | 0,5 |
1000-4999 | 1 |
5000-9995 | 5 |
>10000 | 10 |
Copenhagen | |
---|---|
0-4,99 | 0,01 |
5-9,95 | 0,05 |
10-49,9 | 0,1 |
50-249,75 | 0,25 |
250-499,5 | 0,5 |
500-4999 | 1 |
5000-19990 | 10 |
>20000 | 100 |
Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Remark 2
If you enter a limit order, your limit may not diverge too much from the last price. If you don’t respect this rule, your order will be rejected. In the diagram below, you find the authorized deviation compared to the stock price.
Stock price | authorized deviation |
---|---|
0.01-0.05 | 300 % |
0.06-0.25 | 150 % |
0.26-0.5 | 60 % |
0.51-1 | 30 % |
1.01-5 | 20 % |
5.01-100 | 10 % |
>100 | 8 % |
1° Opening times
The Oslo Exchange is open from 9.00 am till 5.30 pm CET.
The orders are sent to the stock exchange from 8.30 onwards, but remain in "Wait" status until 9 am.
Day orders are cancelled after closing of the market, at 4.30 pm. Orders placed after 4.30 pm are sent to the exchange on the next trading day.
2° Currencies
The Oslo Exchange quotes in NOK.
3° Types of orders and quantities allowed
1. Market orders
A market order makes it possible to buy or sell shares immediately at the best price available on the market if the quantity of the counterparty is large enough. The non-executed part of a market order remains in the orderbook as a 'market order' (without a limit) and is executed at the price of any new incoming order at the opposite of the orderbook. However, the final price is not guaranteed, especially if there is high activity in the share in question. If you want to place a market order, do leave the "price" field empty. Attention: Market orders can only be entered during the opening hours of the Oslo Exchange. During the closing hours of the market, you must use a limit order.
2. Limit orders
A limit order is more precise than a market order as you set a limit price a which you are ready to buy or sell. A limit order gives no guarantee as to execution of the order.
4° Validity of orders
It is possible to determine the validity of your orders :
- Day: Your order will be valid for that day only. If it is not executed, it will be automatically cancelled. In case you entered a dayorder after closure of the stock exchange, your order will be valid the next trading day.
- GTC (Good Till Cancelled): Your order will be valid for 90 days. The orders can be cancelled by you, the stock market or Keytrade Bank.
When a day order gets executed partially, the remaining part of the order will be cancelled after market closing. If you want the remaining part to be executed as well, you will have to enter a new order, for which a full transaction fee will be debited.
When placing a GTC order, the remaining part of the order will remain valid on the market until complete execution or cancellation. You pay only one transaction fee, regardless the number of partial executions. Orders can be cancelled either by you, by the exchange or by Keytrade Bank.
Tick sizes of the market
0,0001-0,4999 | 0,0001 |
0,5-0,9995 | 0,0005 |
1-4,999 | 0,001 |
5-9,995 | 0,005 |
10-49,99 | 0,01 |
50-99,95 | 0,05 |
100-499,9 | 0,1 |
500-999,9 | 0,5 |
1000-4999 | 1 |
5000-9995 | 5 |
>10000 | 10 |
Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+2 |
London Stock Exchange | D+2 |
Milan | D+2 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+2 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+2 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Remark 2
If you enter a limit order, your limit may not diverge too much from the last price. If you don’t respect this rule, your order will be rejected. In the diagram below, you find the authorized deviation compared to the stock price.
Stock price | authorized deviation |
---|---|
0.01-0.05 | 300 % |
0.06-0.25 | 150 % |
0.26-0.5 | 60 % |
0.51-1 | 30 % |
1.01-5 | 20 % |
5.01-100 | 10 % |
>100 | 8 % |
You also have the possibility to trade before and after regular market hours (Extended hours trading).
How to place a trade before or after market hours?
Select
"US markets in pre-market"
2.00 pm till 3.15 pm: Introduction of orders
3.25 pm: the non executed orders will automatically be cancelled
or
"US markets in after market"
10.15 pm till 00.30 am: Introduction of orders
00.45 am: the non executed orders will automatically be cancelled
Only "Limit" orders and "day" orders are allowed.
All orders that are not executed or that are only partially executed will be immediatly cancelled by Keytrade Bank after the session.
Stocks that you bought in pre-market hours can of course be sold during regular market hours and vice versa. Transaction prices for extended hours trading are similar to prices applicable to other markets.
Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+3 |
London Stock Exchange | D+3 |
Milan | D+3 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+3 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+3 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
What is the 'US witholding tax on options'?
Non US residents pay 30%/15% US withholding tax on the payment of a dividend from US source. The US tax authority IRS has noted that foreign investors often avoid taxes by buying options on US stocks. As a consequence of a change of US tax law, withholding tax may in certain cases, from 1/1/2017 on, be levied on dividends paid by the underlying US stock of the option.
In which cases will I have to pay withholding taxes?
The US withholding tax is payable on the dividend paid out by the underlying US stock of the option if the delta of the option is 1 or more at the time of purchase of the option.
If you have bought the option when the delta is 0.9, and the delta is 1 at the time of payment of the dividend, you will not have to pay any withholding tax. It is the delta at the time of the purchase that counts. If you buy an option with a delta 1 and you sell this option before the underlying US stock pays out a dividend, you don’t pay any withholding tax.
Fund means "Undertaking for collective Investment". UCI is a general term used for different undertakings as the Mutual Fund, the open-end collective investment scheme (Sicav) and the closed-end collective investment scheme (Sicaf).
The NAV (Net Asset Value) for most of the funds is calculated on a daily basis (when the market closes). This value is published the following day on the site.
Sales and purchases never take place at this NAV. The actual trade date depends on the policy of the fundcompany.
Each subscription/redemption request of shares/units of the fund can be introduced and registered through our Transaction Site. On each working day, Keytrade Bank centralizes all these requests placed from 11h30 (Belgian time) of the previous day (D-1) or the previous working day until 11h30 of D-day and sends them immediately to its correspondent who on his turn sends them for execution at 13h. The order introduced and registered before 11h30 via our Transaction Site will be executed at the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the same day (D), of the following day (D+1), the next following day (D+2) or weekly (until D+7), depending on the conditions for the subscription and the redemption of shares/ units (especially the cut-off time) mentioned in the prospectus. If the order is placed and registered after 11h30, the order will be sent for execution the following working day. Requests for changes of sub-fund are not possible at Keytrade Bank.
Example 1: You place on D-day at 9h a sell order for a fund with a cut off time indicated in the prospectus fixed at 10h30 and the calculation of the NAV happens on D+1. Because Keytrade Bank will only send your order at 11h30, this is after the cut-off time of the fund, you?ll have the NAV of D+1, calculated on D+2.
Example 2: You place on D-day at 12h a sell order for the same fund. Your order will be sent the following working day at 11h30 to our correspondent and therefore you?ll have the NAV of D+2, calculated on D+3.
Example 3: You place on D-day at 9h a sell order for a fund with a cut off time indicated in the prospectus fixed at 12h and the calculation of the Net Asset Value (NAV) happens on D+1. Keytrade Bank will send your order at 11h30 but the order will be sent only at 13h by our correspondent, your order will be sent after the cut-off time of the fund, you'll have to the NAV D+1, calculated on D+2.
Example 4: You place on D-day at 9h a sell order for a fund with a cut off time indicated in the prospectus fixed at 15h and the calculation of the Net Asset Value (NAV) happens on D+1. Keytrade Bank will send your order at 11h30 and the order will be sent at 13h by our correspondent, your order will be sent before the cut-off time of the fund, you?ll have to the NAV of the day (D), calculated on D+1.
Attention: It is possible that your order remains "pending", even if it is already executed on the correct date and at the right price. This is due to the fact that the market of investment funds doesn't work in real time and Keytrade Bank therefore has to wait on the definitive confirmation of the execution by the funds managers. And this can take some days.
Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+3 |
London Stock Exchange | D+3 |
Milan | D+3 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+3 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+3 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
Eurobonds are bonds which are often issued in several European countries simultaneously. Issuers are often large international institutions, companies, and sometimes public authorities. The prefix "Euro" simply refers to the bond's location of issue (Europe). It does not refer to the nationality of its issuer or the currency of issue. A Eurobond can therefore very easily be issued by a Japanese company in US Dollars.
Alongside the Eurobonds market, the national or domestic bond market also exists. These bonds are only issued in the country of their issuer, e.g. a bond for General Motors would be issued in the US. Keytrade Bank negotiates exclusively in Eurobonds.
Issuing bonds (primary market)
An issuer such as a multinational wishing to issue bonds in order to raise finance for its company will contact a specialist banker who will take care of all the necessary formalities. Furthermore, a certain number of factors need to be defined. The most important of these are: the bond's issue size, period, currency, coupon and subscription price.
- Issue size: this is the total amount that the issuer would like to raise on the primary bond market. A routine issue size on the Eurobonds market would be EUR 100 million.
- The life span of the bond is determined by the issuer. This period more often than not varies between 3 and 10 years.
- Currency: although most bonds are issued in euros, a Eurobond can actually be issued in any currency that exists.
- Coupon: the periodic interest (often paid annually) that the investor will receive on the nominal value of the investment.
- Subscription price: a percentage of the nominal value; the bond is issued against this percentage on the primary market.
For example: General Motors wishes to issue a Eurobond. It will be agreed with the investment banker that the issue on the primary market will have the following characteristics:
- Issue size: EUR 150,000,000
- Life span: 7 years
- Currency: Euro
- Coupon: 5.25%
- Issue price: 101%
During a defined period called the subscription period (which often lasts 4-6 weeks) investors can sign up to the bond issued by General Motors (subscription on primary market). For a nominal investment of EUR 10,000, the investor will have to pay EUR 10,100 (101%). Every year for 7 years, this bond will yield a return of EUR 525 (5.25% of EUR 10,000) on the coupon date, before deductions are made for withholding tax. On the maturity date (after 7 years) the investor will be paid back the EUR 10,000 capital investment.
The secondary Eurobonds market.
Once the subscription period for the bond issue has closed, it is no longer possible to sign up for the bond at the original price. The bond is then no longer listed on the "primary market".
This does not mean that an interested investor has missed their chance to buy the bond.
The day after the subscription period closes, the bond issue in fact moves from the primary market to the secondary market.
The secondary Eurobonds market is simply a market for existing bonds. Buyers and sellers are continuously active on this market.
This is why market pricing constantly comes into play. An investor who buys a bond on the primary market can in principle always sell it on the secondary market. An active investor can go to the secondary market to acquire bonds listed at very attractive prices.
Contrary to the situation on the equity markets, the majority of trades in Eurobonds take place directly between professionals such as bankers or stockbrokers, etc. rather than via stock exchanges.
Though Eurobonds are often listed on the stock markets (mostly on the Luxembourg stock exchange), the majority of trades are carried out "over-the-counter" (between professionals) for reasons of limited liquidity. This means that unlike the stock markets, the Eurobonds market is a true professionals' market.
Keytrade Bank offers its customers access to this secondary professionals' market via its Eurobonds trading platform.
The basics of investing in Eurobonds
Why should I invest in bonds? How secure is an investment in bonds? How can I choose a good bond, and what do I need to look out for?
We have tried to provide answers to these questions in the points that follow. We hope they will help you to understand some of the introductory principles of investing in bonds.
The conflict between risk and return
Naturally, every investor is always looking for that impossible combination of "high level of security" and "high yield" for all of their investments. But unfortunately, security rarely equates with a high return. A high return is more often than not coupled with a high level of risk. This universal rule applies throughout the financial world, and this includes on the bond market.
-
Quality and rating
The quality of the issuer is often expressed through its rating, which gives an indication of its level of solvency. The following question then arises: how can the bondholder (the investor) be sure that the issuer will honour all of his commitments? In addition to making regular interest payments, the issuer must be in a position to repay the nominal value of the bond upon maturity.
There are several rating agencies all pursuing the same objective, which is to assess the solvency of issuers on the bond market. The most well known of these are Standard & Poors (S&P) and Moody'sFollowing an in-depth analysis of the issuers, these agencies award them a credit rating, which is an indication of the issuers' level of solvency.
Standard & Poor's | Moody's |
AAA An obligation rated 'AAA' has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor's. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on an obligation is extremely strong. |
Aaa Bonds which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as "gilt edged." Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues. |
AA An obligation rated 'AA' differs from the highest rated obligations only in small degree. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong. |
Aa1 - Aa3 Bonds which are rated Aas are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high-grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risk appear somewhat larger than the Aaa securities. |
A An obligation rated 'A' is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rated categories. However, the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong. |
A1 - A3 Bonds which are rated A possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper-medium-grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate, but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment some time in the future. |
BBB An obligation rated 'BBB' exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. |
Baa1 - Baa3 Bonds which are rated Baa are considered as medium-grade obligations (i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured). Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well. |
BB An obligation rated 'BB' is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financia |
Ba1 - Ba3 Bonds which are rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements; their future cannot be considered as well assured. Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate, and thereby not well safeguarded during both good and bad times over the future. Uncertainty of position characterizes bonds in this class. |
B An obligation rated 'B' is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated 'BB', but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor's capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. |
B1 - B3 Bonds which are rated B generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment. Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small. |
CCC An obligation rated 'CCC' is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. |
Caa1 - Caa3 Bonds which are rated Caa are of poor standing. Such issues may be in default or there may be present elements of danger with respect to principal or interest. |
CC An obligation rated 'CC' is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. |
Ca Bonds which are rated Ca represent obligations which are speculative in a high degree. Such issues are often in default or have other marked shortcomings. |
C A subordinated debt or preferred stock obligation rated 'C' is CURRENTLY HIGHLY VULNERABLE to nonpayment. The 'C' rating may be used to cover a situation where a bankruptcy petition has been filed or similar action taken, but payments on this obligation are being continued. A 'C' also will be assigned to a preferred stock issues in arrears on dividends or sinking fund payments, but that is currently paying. |
C Bonds which are rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds, and issues so rated can be regarded as having extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing. |
D An obligation rated 'D' is in payment default. The 'D' rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor's believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The 'D' rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized. |
|
N.R. This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poor's does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy. |
NR Not rated. |
Plus (+) or minus (-) The ratings from 'AA' to 'CCC' may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories. | |
r This symbol is attached to the ratings of instruments with significant noncredit risks. It highlights risks to principal or volatility of expected returns which are not addressed in the credit rating. |
An AAA rating awarded to an issuer by Standard & Poors is an indication that this issuer is very solvent indeed. The equivalent of the S&P AAA rating is the Aaa rating from Moody's. Bonds with a rating of lower than BBB (S&P classification) or Baa3 (Moody's classification) are generally considered to be speculative grade bonds.
Of course, a bond issued by a very good debtor (with a high rating such as AA or A2) will produce a lower yield than a bond with the same characteristics but whose issuer is in financial difficulty and consequently has a rating of B or B2, for example.
So it is essential to always pay attention to the ratings given to bonds when comparing their yields.
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Life span
In normal market circumstances, a long-term bond offers a higher yield than a short-term bond. However, a long-term bond is inherently riskier than a short-term bond, since one can never predict the future. The likelihood that the issuer will fail is obviously greater over a longer period of time compared to a short period. -
Currency
Certain bonds can present a very attractive yield to the investor without there necessarily being any link to a bad debtor. The reason for this could simply be that the bond was issued in a high-yield currency. Yet it must not be forgotten that exchange rates change and that therefore, a risk is present. If you do not wish to take any risks at all, you should only invest in euros. The yield of a bond issued in euros may be smaller than those issued in certain other currencies (e.g. the Hungarian Forint), but you will not incur any foreign exchange risk. If you would prefer to speculate, for example on the rise of the US Dollar, it would be a worthwhile investment to buy bonds in US Dollars. -
Interest rate and coupon
The coupon is the periodic payment of interest that you receive as the holder of bonds. Ordinarily, Eurobonds pay a fixed annual coupon, but twice-yearly or quarterly coupon payments are also possible.The coupon amount is obtained by multiplying the nominal interest rate by the nominal value of the bond.
For example:
A bond has a nominal interest rate of 5.25% per annum. An investor buys EUR 10,000 at a cost of EUR 10,400. Every year, this investor will receive a coupon amounting to 5.25% of EUR 10,000: 5.25% x 10,000 = EUR 525.As well as fixed rate bonds, there are also floating rate bonds. The interest rate for these bonds is modified periodically throughout the life span of the bond, and is often adjusted quarterly. These floating interest rates are often linked to a benchmark rate such as the Euribor rate. In the jargon, these bonds are often also called "Floating Rate Notes".
For example:
a "Floating Rate Note" has a life span of 4 years and pays a quarterly coupon linked to the 3 month Euribor rate + 0.50%..A type of bond also exists that we call "zero-coupon bonds" or "zero bonds". As their name would suggest, these bonds do not pay periodic coupons. But this definitely does not mean that a zero bond is not a worthwhile investment. The main feature of a zero bond is that this bond is issued "under par value". This means that if an investor buys a zero bond, he/she will pay less than the bond repayment amount. The investor's profit is constituted by the difference between the bond repayment (often 100% of the nominal value) and the price the investor paid.
For example:
a zero bond has a life span of 5 years and is listed at 75%. The repayment is for 100%. The investor will receive no coupons for 5 years, but his/her investment of 75% will be repaid at a rate of 100% after 5 years. -
Price and yield
In the example cited above, the investor receives an annual coupon of 5.25%. This coupon is calculated against the nominal value of the bond he/she bought (EUR 10,000), not the price paid (EUR 10,400).As a consequence, the yield the investor obtains on the investment is less than 5.25%!
The investor's "direct yield" only amounts to 525/10,400 = 5.05%.
Thus we can say that the higher the price of the bond, the lower the yield it deliversProfessional investors almost never refer to the idea of direct yield, but instead to what we call the "actuarial yield".
The actuarial yield is the annual yield of a bond which not only takes into account the coupon, but also other aspects such as coupon date, maturity date, current price and the bond repayment.
We will return to the example given above. Let us assume that the investor bought this bond just one year before its maturity date. The buyer would have paid 104% (EUR 10,400 for a nominal value of EUR 10,000) and will receive a 100% repayment (EUR 10,000) after one year. After one year, the investor does the accounts: he/she will receive a coupon of 5.25%, but will lose 4% of the investment (which was bought at 104% but is repaid at 100%). The investor's net yield, therefore, is only 1.25%.
We will now imagine that the investor bought the bond two years before its maturity date, again at 104% of its value. At the end of this period, the investor calculates the yield again: he/she receives 2 coupons of 5.25%, so 10.50%, and loses 4% of the investment. After two years, the net yield achieved is 10.50% - 4% = 6.50%, so approximately 3.25% per year.This method of calculating the yield produces a more precise picture of the actual yield of an investment in a bond than the simple direct yield idea. Professionals calculate this actual yield using the techniques of actuarial mathematics (the example above has been simplified considerably)! This is why we use the term "actuarial yield".
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Particular forms of repayment
Generally, the majority of bonds are repaid in cash equivalent to their nominal value. However, this is not always the case. Some bonds are automatically repaid in stock, and in other cases, the investor has the choice of receiving payment at maturity in stock or in cash. Another possible scenario is that the bond repayment is linked to a stock market index. -
Guarantees/hierarchy
It is generally recognised that bonds are reasonably safe investments. The risk of non-repayment of a bond issued by a good debtor is fairly low. Should an issuer face bankruptcy, the creditors of this issuer will be repaid in a particular order. Certain priority lenders will be repaid in the first instance (e.g. the government, mortgage lenders, etc.) Unsecured creditors are repaid next (the majority of bondholders fall into this category). The final group of creditors is then paid. These include shareholders, holders of subordinated bonds, and so on. Before purchasing a bond, it is therefore crucial that the guarantees and hierarchy of commitments in the event of bankruptcy are established in advance.- Guarantees :
- Unlike secured bonds, unsecured bonds are issued without offering any specific guarantee.
- In the case of multinational companies, bonds issued are often guaranteed by the parent company (called the "company guarantee", or "bank guarantee" in the case of a banking group)
- Some bonds issued are "asset backed". This means that a specific fund is ring-fenced in order to guarantee repayment of the bond.
- Hierarchy:
- In the event of bankruptcy, a subordinated bond is paid after all the other bondholders, directly before the shareholders are paid.
- A "senior bond" is a common form of bond situated above the bottom of the hierarchy, meaning it is more secure than an unsecured bond.
- Guarantees :
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Interest due
The majority of Eurobonds pay an annual coupon. In principle, the investor receives 1/365 of this annual coupon for every day he/she holds a bond.We will now imagine that the investor buys a bond on a secondary market, and that the bond's annual coupon will be paid in 7 months. In other words, 5 months have passed since the last coupon was paid. The bond has therefore already produced interest over 5 months. This interest is due to the seller of the bond, and must therefore be paid by the buyer of the bond. The buyer will receive the entirety of the coupon on its payment date (in the next 7 months).
The interest due is calculated by applying a fraction to the coupon amount, as follows: the fraction numerator is equal to the number of days' interest due, and the denominator equals the number of days in one year. This fraction (also called the "accrual basis") may vary from one bond to another. The most common types of accrual basis are :
- ACT/ACT : the numerator is equal to the number of effective days between the date of the last coupon payment and its settlement date. The denominator is the number of effective days in one year (365 or 366).
- ACT/360 : the numerator is equal to the number of effective days between the date of the last coupon payment and its settlement date. The denominator is set on the basis of 360 days.
- 30/360 : it is agreed that every month contains 30 days
For example:
A bond has the following characteristics :- Its last coupon was paid on 23 February 2003
- The annual coupon is 6%
- The accrual basis used is ACT/ACT
An investor buys EUR 10,000 of this bond with a settlement date of 19 September 2003. The exact number of days between 23 February 2003 and 19 September 2003 is 208. The seller of this bond is therefore entitled to 6% x 10,000 x 208/365 = EUR 341.92 in payable interest. The buyer will therefore have to pay this sum to the seller. The buyer will receive the entirety of the coupon on 23 February 2004 (the date of the following coupon payment).
1° Introduction
Bonds available on the website are the ones available on the primary market, which means new issues only.
2° Schedule
Transactions are possible between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. for an instant execution. Orders entered after 5 p.m. will be waiting for acceptance on the next trading day ('B' status) at 8.30 a.m. Then orders will be moved to 'W' status (waiting for execution) and will not be cancellable anymore.
3° Subscription modalities
The underwriting price is equal to the issue price, and the bonds can be ordered with or without physical delivery. Payable in EUR or other currencies.
4° Minimal quantity
The minimal amount to underwrite for is indicated on the web site for each bond (in the 'minimum' column). The total underwritten amount must always be a multiple of that minimum amount.
Remark
If you wish to use the revenue of a sell, you must take into account the value date of the generated cash.
Value dates per market:
Euronext (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris) | D+3 |
London Stock Exchange | D+3 |
Milan | D+3 |
Xetra (Frankfurt) | D+2 |
Switzerland | D+3 |
Madrid | D+2 |
OMX (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhague) | D+3 |
US markets | D+2 |
Canadian markets | D+2 |
European options | D+1 |
US options | D+1 |
Funds | D+3 (the value date is stipulated by the issuer) |
Bonds | D+2 |
Currency exchange | D+1 |
A. Operation of the Eurobond platform (secondary market)
1. Search engine
Using the search engine allows you to apply different filters.
- You can run a search based on the issuer's name or a part of their name
- The type of coupon – the majority will be fixed. More information is given under point 4
- The ISIN code: this is a unique international code
- Currency
- The Moody's rating; you will find a general summary of this rating below
- The group maturity date
If your choice of bond is not included on the list, you can contact our bond desk on 02/679 90 99
2. Description of the bond and bond issuer
When you click on a bond from the results listed by the search function, you will see a detailed description of that bond:
- the full name of the issuer
- the ISIN code
You will find some information about the price:
- Bid (sale) and ask (purchase). Please note: should the bid or ask be unavailable, we advise you to check the last price and to work with a limit order. The market maker will be alerted to this and will potentially be able to execute your limit order.
- The bid and ask quantities: these are the maximum nominal values that you can buy or sell online for a particular bond which is worth the price indicated.
- Yield on the sale price (ask yield) and on the purchase price (bid yield). This is an indication of the actuarial yield if you buy (ask yield) or sell (bid yield).
- Last price and amount: this price can serve as a reference in order to register a limit order.
- Closing price and yield on closing price: this price can also serve as a reference in order to register a limit order.
- Last update: displays the last updated price
In the second part, you will be given the following information:
- Coupon: shows the coupon you will obtain once the bond is part of your portfolio
- Currency: shows the currency of the bond
- Denomination: shows the minimum denomination for purchase
- Issue size: shows the total amount issued
- Number of days accrued
- Coupon frequency: in the majority of cases, the coupon is paid annually (frequency of 1), but in the case of certain other bonds, the coupon is paid twice annually (frequency of 2) or even quarterly (frequency of 4)
- Type of coupon: several types are possible, the most common being the fixed. The different types of coupons will be detailed later in this document
- Day Count: the method used to calculate interest
- Guarantor: the company that guarantees the bond
- Maturity date: the bond's maturity date
3. Rating
It is possible to obtain a rating for the bonds available through our site. The rating given is that attributed by Moody's. You must first sign a contract, and this can be done using your confirmation code.
Naturally, every investor is always looking for that impossible combination of "high level of security" and "high yield" for all of their investments. But unfortunately, security rarely equates with a high return. A high return is more often than not coupled with a high level of risk. This universal rule applies throughout the financial world, and this includes on the bond market.
The quality of an issuer is often expressed through its rating, which gives an indication of its level of solvency. The following question then arises: "How can the bondholder (the investor) be sure that the issuer will honour all of his commitments?" In addition to making regular interest payments, the issuer must be in a position to repay the nominal value of the bond upon maturity.
There are several rating agencies all pursuing the same objective, which is to assess the solvency of issuers on the bond market. The most well known of these are Standard & Poors (S&P) and Moody's.
Following an in-depth analysis of the issuers, these agencies award them a credit rating, which is an indication of the issuers' level of solvency. An AAA rating awarded to an issuer by Standard & Poors is an indication that this issuer is very solvent indeed. The equivalent of the S&P AAA rating is the Aaa rating from Moody's.
Bonds with a rating of lower than BBB (S&P classification) or Baa3 (Moody's classification) are generally considered to be speculative grade bonds.
Moody's
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Aaa
Bonds which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as "gilt edged." Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues. -
Aa1 - Aa3
Bonds which are rated Aas are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high-grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risk appear somewhat larger than the Aaa securities. -
A1 - A3
Bonds which are rated A possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper-medium-grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate, but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment some time in the future. -
Baa1 - Baa3
Bonds which are rated Baa are considered as medium-grade obligations (i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured). Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well. -
Ba1 - Ba3
Bonds which are rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements; their future cannot be considered as well assured. Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate, and thereby not well safeguarded during both good and bad times over the future. Uncertainty of position characterizes bonds in this class. -
B1 - B3
Bonds which are rated B generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment. Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small. -
Caa1 - Caa3
Bonds which are rated Caa are of poor standing. Such issues may be in default or there may be present elements of danger with respect to principal or interest. -
Ca
Bonds which are rated Ca represent obligations which are speculative in a high degree. Such issues are often in default or have other marked shortcomings. -
C
Bonds which are rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds, and issues so rated can be regarded as having extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing. -
NR
Not rated.
Of course, a bond issued by a very good debtor (with a high rating such as AA or A2) will produce a lower yield than a bond with the same characteristics but whose issuer is in financial difficulty and consequently has a rating of B or B2, for example.
4. Diagrams
At the end, you will find two diagrams. the first of these shows the bond's price history during a particular period of time. By pressing the YTM button, you can see the bond's yield during that same period.
The second diagram shows the difference in yield compared to the swap rate. The swap rate is a deal to exchange two interest rate flows (one at a fixed rate, and the other a variable rate).
B. Information relating to bond negotiation
If you press the "trade" button, you will arrive on the orders screen.
Here, you will find the following information :
- The seller (bid) and buyer (ask) yield: this shows the yield at sale or purchase.
- Bid/Ask: shows the bond's sale or purchase price.
Important note: Occasionally, the market maker is not present on the market. If this is the case, you will not receive a bid or ask. You are therefore recommended to work with a limited order, the limit being close to the last price you find on the order screen.
- Coupon frequency: shows the number of coupons per year.
- Bond maturity date.
- Denomination: the minimum investment in the bond.
- Guarantor: the party guaranteeing the bond
Keytrade Bank has opted to send orders to LuxNext and Euronext. These are regulated stock exchanges with several market makers. You can find out more by going to :
1. Accrued interest
The accrued interest is calculated on 100% of the nominal value. If you buy a bond, you must pay the accrued interest to the seller. If you sell a bond, you receive the accrued interest.
Here we display the accrued interest on an order executed today. As soon as you place an order, we calculate the accrued interest as of today's date. You can also place a GTD (Good Till Date) order with a maximum validity period of one month. If you choose this option, you will need to have more cash in your securities account, since for every day the order is not executed, an extra day's interest accrues. The amount debited/credited will be broken down on the order note.
2. Settlement date
As is the case on the Euronext equity market, bond transactions are in principle liquidated 3 days after the transaction date. Your cash assets will therefore be credited using this settlement date (sale date) or debited (purchase date).
We will try to provide the most precise answers possible on this topic and those that follow. We would like to give you an overview of the basic principles of investing in bonds. However, for more information, we advise you to undertake further reading.
- the issuer's country of domicile
- the sector and sectoral group to which the issuer belongs
- the rating and solvency stated by Moody's
3. Information about the bond issue
- The bond ISIN code and symbol. The ISIN code is the international standard for designating a financial instrument.
- Bond currency
- Collateral – type (guarantee and hierarchy)
- Senior: means this is a conventional type of bond which is not subordinated.
- Unsecured: the bond is not secured by any specific guarantee. Debt secured by collateral is the most widespread type of senior debt.
- Subordinated: this is a bond which is subordinated. In the event of a credit incident such as bankruptcy, these bonds will be repaid after the senior debt. These bonds are therefore very risky in cases where the issuer is experiencing credit difficulties.
- Asset backed: these obligations are guaranteed by particular assets
- Company guaranteed: the bond loan is guaranteed by another company (often the parent company of a multinational).
- Bank guaranteed: the bond is guaranteed by a bank (often in the case of a bank belonging to a bank holding company).
- (Foreign) government guaranteed: the bond is guaranteed by a (foreign) government.
4. Coupon
- The coupon is annual. If payments are made quarterly, the quarterly coupon will be equal to a quarter of the designated annual coupon.
- Frequency of coupon payments.
- In the majority of cases, the coupon is paid annually (frequency of 1), but for certain other bonds, the coupon is paid twice annually (frequency of 2) or even quarterly (frequency of 4).
- Coupon type:
- Fixed: the coupon is fixed for the entire life of the bond
- Floating: the coupon is floating, and is in principle adjusted at every coupon payment date. This coupon is often linked to a benchmark interest rate such as the Euribor or Libor. This benchmark will be explained in the box entitled "secondary description".
- Zero: the coupon amount is zero, and so the bond is a zero-rate bond.
- Step-up: the coupon increases after each coupon payment. Details of this type of coupon will be given in the box entitled "secondary description".
- Variable: the coupon is variable and can depend on a large number of factors, e.g. a stock market index. The coupon may also fluctuate within a pre-determined range. Details of this type of coupon will be given in the box entitled "secondary description".
Warning: Step-up and variable bonds are complex instruments and we do not recommend them to inexperienced investors!
- Existence of a put option: if the bond has a put option attached, this means that the bondholder can, in certain circumstances before maturity, ask the issuer to repay the bond loan early (more details on this subject will be provided later).
- Existence of a call option: if the bond has a call option attached, this means the issuer can, in certain circumstances before maturity, repay the bond early (more details will be given on this subject in the box entitled "secondary description".
- Secondary description: all further information of use is provided here (in English, and with abbreviations)!
5. Information about bond negotiation.
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Minimum transaction quantity
- This is the minimum quantity accepted by Keytrade Bank for a trade in this bond. This figure is always expressed in the currency of the bond. A minimum transaction amount of 1,000 therefore means that the bonds can only be negotiated in multiples of a nominal value of EUR 1,000 (with a minimum stake of EUR 1,000).
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Trade settlement date
- As is the case on the Euronext equity market, bond transactions are in principle liquidated 3 business days after the transaction date. On this settlement date, your liquid assets will either be credited (if you are selling) or debited (purchasing).
- Date of next coupon
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Accrued interest on a nominal value of 100
- If you buy a bond, you will have to pay the accrued interest to the seller. If you sell a bond, you will receive the accrued interest. Here we will indicate the total amount of accrued interest if you execute the transaction today. The indication is always based on a nominal value of 100: for example, you have EUR 10,000 of a particular bond and the accrued interest for 100 amounts to 3.4551. This means that if you sell this bond today, you will receive EUR 345.51 in accrued interest. This amount must be paid by the buyer.
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Method used to calculate accrued interest
- This figure is given purely for the purposes of information
- Please refer to the "basic principles"
6. Information on price
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The seller (bid) and buyer (ask) price
- Prices are always expressed in the form of a percentage of the nominal value that you wish to buy. Accrued interest is never included in the price!
- The ask price is the price at which you can sell the bond
- The bid price is the price at which you can buy the bond
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2. The maximum quantity for which these bid and ask prices are valid.
- These are the maximum nominal values that you can buy or sell online for a particular bond which is worth the price indicated.
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If you would like to negotiate a larger amount, two options are available:
- You can call our trading desk +32(0)2/679.90.99
- Or you can split your trade into several parts. However, there is no guarantee that this method will enable you to reach the desired quantity; everything depends on the market situation at that precise point in time.
- 3. Yield on the sale price (ask yield) and on the purchase price (bid yield).
7. The trading window
During the trading window, you enter the transaction which you subscribe to using your electronic signature.
8. Executing a trade
Your order to trade must be transmitted via the trading window, allowing you to specify:
- Buy or sell
- The nominal value you wish to negotiate (in the currency of the bond issue)
- The currency in which you wish to be debited or credited If you wish, therefore, you can pay for a bond in US Dollars in euros.
Once you have entered your trade, you will receive a summary and breakdown showing the total amount of the transaction. It is important to bear in mind that the value of the trade can be very different to the nominal value.
For example:
A bond is listed at 107.15 - 107.35
The accrued interest is 2.455
You buy EUR 5,000 of this bond
The transaction value will be calculated as follows:
Principal : 5,000 *107.35% | = EUR 5367.50 |
Interest due:2.455*5000/100 | = EUR 122.75 |
Sub-total : | = EUR 5490.25 |
Fees 0.20% (minimum EUR 29.95) | EUR 29.95 |
Stamp duty on stock market transactions 0.09% | EUR 3.84 |
Total : | EUR 5524.04 |
9. Opening times
Opening times are from 9am to 5pm.
Conditions on the Forex market
Buying/selling range target spread
The target spreads (spreads which we try to maintain at any time on the market) which we offer our customers are in keeping with all our efforts to offer the best possible rates. Under normal market conditions, the spreads displayed can even be tighter than the target spreads, but in a period of very high volatility, these spreads may be slightly wider.
Margin requirements
The Forex market is a market traded on margin, allowing you to use leverage and take positions on the market for a nominal amount which is higher than the value of your account. You can find the margin requirements for each currency pair on the Rates page. It should be noted that a margin requirement is divided by 2 on the first €50,000 of collateral.
Margin calls
You must maintain the margin levels required by Keytrade Bank on your account at all times. If the funds in your account mean that you can no longer maintain the margin requirement, you will receive a margin call by e-mail and on the platform. You are then invited to deposit funds by transfer or bank card, or to reduce your open positions. If your margin level does not improve, Keytrade Bank reserves the right to close all your open positions.
Automatic execution
Most transactions completed on the Forex market are executed instantaneously and placed on the market with the intervention of Saxo Bank. Keytrade Bank offers its customers excellent liquidity. For transactions involving more than the automatic execution thresholds, you need to make a quote request on the trading platform. It should be noted that the automatic execution thresholds are very high (e.g.: 20 million for the pair EUR/USD).
Threshold for commissions
For transactions involving an amount below the commission threshold, commission of €5 or its exchange value in a foreign currency is debited from the account. The commission debited in a different currency from the account is converted into the original currency of the account at the rate at 5.00 p.m. New York time.
These transactions thresholds are, however, relatively low (e.g.: 50,000 for the pair EUR/USD).
Minimum size of transactions
On our trading platform, Forex transactions are not completed in batches. So you can buy the euro against the dollar for an amount of €6,789.
Swap
Rollover to D+1/D+2
Rollover period
The rollover period is the date on which the operation of reporting the position is realized on the trading account, mostly J+1/J+2.
Customers subject to rollover of Asiatic positions:
positions open on cash currencies, held on closing of the trading day (5.00 p.m., New York time) shall be rolled over to the next value date on the basis D+1/D+2, just after the start of the next trading day, and at approximately 3.00 a.m. HEC.
Conditions applied to other customers:
positions open on cash currencies, held on closing of the trading day (5.00 p.m., New York time) shall be rolled over to the next value date on the basis D+1/D+2, just after the start of the next trading day, and at approximately 10.30 a.m. HEC.
Swap point credits or debits at D+1/D+2
In the context of rollover to D+1/D+2, positions on foreign currencies are subject to swap point credits or debits. These credits and debits represent what are known as "swap points" and are applied to each original transaction rate of positions on currencies.
Swap points are calculated as follows:
An individual swap rate at D+1/D+2 is calculated based on a number of factors (including the interest rate* difference between the traded currencies). This rate is then corrected to match the swap at D+1/D+2 of a leading bank. A margin or depreciation is finally applied on the customer's account, according to their profile. This final rate is used to correct the original transaction rate.
We apply a markup of +- 0.45% on the original rate.
* = overnight interest rate on the daily market (Reuters)
Interest on unrealized profits or losses
credit or debit interest shall be applied to any unrealised profit or any loss on the position rolled over.
Calculation of profits or losses:
Customers subject to rollover of Asiatic positions:
the unrealized profit or loss is the equivalent of the difference between the original transaction rate (possibly corrected for previous rollovers at D+1/D+2) and the transaction rate of the currencies pair at 5.00 p.m, New York time.
Conditions applied to other customers:
the unrealized profit or loss is the equivalent of the difference between the original transaction rate (possibly corrected for previous rollovers at D+1/D+2) and the transaction rate of the currencies pair at 8.15 a.m. HEC.
Applicable rates:
the rate is calculated based on the overnight interest rate on the daily market (Reuters), plus or minus the margin/depreciation applied according to the customer's profile. This final rate is used to correct the original transaction rate.
Overnight total costs at D+1/D+2:
the debit/credit overnight costs at D+1/D+2 are the sum of the above-mentioned final two rates.
Margin requirements on CFDs
CFDs are products which are traded on margin, allowing you to use leverage and take positions on the market for a nominal amount which is higher than the value of your account. For more details about the margin requirements on your account, please read the section entitled Margin rates on CFDs.
Positions held overnight
Since CFDs are products which are traded on margin, you finance your transactions through interest which may be either credit or debit. When you keep a position after closure of the market (5.00 p.m. New York time), the following charges or credits will apply:
For index CFDs:
- If you keep a long position (buy), your account will be debited by an amount calculated on the basis of the nominal value of the transaction and of the LIBOR rate applied on the currency in which the underlying asset is quoted, plus a mark-up of 3%.
- If you keep a short position (sell), your account will be credited* with an amount calculated on the basis of the nominal value of the transaction and of the LIBID rate applied on the currency in which the underlying asset is quoted, minus a mark-down of 2.5%.
For CFDs on shares:
- If you keep a long position (buy), your account will be debited by an amount calculated on the basis of the nominal value of the transaction and of the LIBOR rate applied on the currency in which the underlying asset is quoted, plus a mark-up of 3%.
- If you keep a short position (sell), your account will be credited* with an amount calculated on the basis of the nominal value of the transaction and of the LIBID rate applied on the currency in which the underlying asset is quoted, minus a mark-down of 2%.
Important remark : The credit/debit is calculated on the total nominal value of the underlying Stock(s) at the time the CFD contract is established (whether long or short).
* Given the actual level of the LIBID market rate on short positions, the credit rate becomes debit after application of the mark-down.
An additional borrowing cost may be applied on short positions held beyond closure of the market. This borrowing cost depends on the liquidity of the shares and may be nil if there is high liquidity on the equity.
If you open a position and close it before the end of the trading day, no interest will be credited or debited.
Conversion of gains or losses made on listed securities in a currency other than your account currency.
All currency conversions are completed based on official closing rates (5.00 p.m. New York time) plus or minus 0.5%.
Dividends from positions held on CFDs on shares
Clients holding long positions on CFDs receive dividends on these positions when applicable. Conversely, clients holding short positions must pay these same dividends. Dividends are adjustments on client accounts and are paid or debited by Keytrade Bank and not by the company representative of the underlying asset. Dividends paid on CFDs may vary from those paid to holders of physical shares and the taxation arrangements specific to some dividends do not apply.
Dividends on index CFD positions
Index CFD positions may give rise to payment of dividends. In this case, the dividends are calculated as follows:
Please note that the DAX30 is a Total Return Index, meaning the index is automatically adjusted for dividends.
Index Dividend = Share Dividend * Shares in Index / Index Divisor*.
* Divisor: an amount used to stabilise the index value when its composition changes. The sum of all index members' prices is divided by the divisor to achieve the normalised index value. The divisor is adjusted when capitalisation amendments are made to the index members, allowing the index value to remain comparable at all times.
To prevent the value of an index from changing due to such an event, all corporate actions that affect the market capitalisation of the index require a divisor adjustment to ensure that the index values remain constant immediately before and after the event.
Market orders
Keytrade Bank may decide to convert Market orders to Limited Rate orders. This approach complies with stock market restrictions and internal compliance.
Market orders may also form the subject of conversion by our brokers for the same reasons.
Please note that it is the client's responsibility to verify whether the order is executed on the market after placement of the order. Keytrade Bank may not be held responsible for missing executions in this respect.
Here is a list of stock markets which do not accept market orders:
NYSE MKT (AMEX – American Stock Exchange)
Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)
Athens Exchange (AT)
London Stock Exchange (LSE_SETS)
Oslo Børs/Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE)
NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen (CSE)
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (HSE)
Singapore Exchange (SGX-ST)
BME Spanish Exchanges (SIBE)
US stops orders
For the American markets, Keytrade Bank uses order placement algorithms to add additional liquidity to the liquidity of the main stock market. This means that orders may be executed before the start of transactions on the main stock market.
Market orders placed after 9.30 a.m. EST (New York time) shall not be executed before opening of the main stock market.
Stop orders are released at the main market price and follow the rules for routing market orders already started.
Given that some Stop orders are processed manually, delays may occur.
Short sale
When the short sale of a CFD is completed on a market on which Keytrade Bank is not a market maker, you may be affected by local stock market rules. For example, for Australian CFDs, you may encounter limits on short sales within a stock market session, due to the limited borrowing availability of the underlying asset. When you carry out a short sale of CFDs, you may be forced to close the position if the CFD is recalled. The risk is particularly high if the equity is difficult to borrow on account of transactions on equities, on the dividend, on investments of rights (and other merger and acquisitions activities) or the increase in the short positions of a Hedge Fund.
On the subject of recall of CFDs, if circumstances no longer allow "lending-borrowing" (usually in the case of imminent bankruptcy), Saxo Bank decides to close the short CFDs. The same applies if a law or a market authority decides to forbid the short sale.
Here are the stock markets on which Saxo Bank is a market maker:
XETR_ETF - Deutsche Börse (Indices & ETF's) VX - SIX Swiss Exchange (Blue-Chip) SSE - NASDAQ OMX Stockholm SIBE - BME Spanish Exchanges PAR - Euronext Paris OSE - Oslo Børs/Oslo Stock Exchange NYSE_ARCA - New York Stock Exchange (ARCA) NYSE - New York Stock Exchange NASDAQ – NASDAQ LSE_SETS - London Stock Exchange FSE - Deutsche Börse (XETRA) CSE - NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen BRU - Euronext Brussels AMS - Euronext Amsterdam.
As a market maker, Saxo Bank may ensure additional liquidity. Saxo Bank assumes the risk in terms of size and liquidity but remains limited by the availabilities of the underlying asset on the security lending-borrowing market.
Margin rates applied to CFDs
CFDs are products which are traded on margin. This means that you can use leverage on your investments by opening positions for an amount higher than the value of the amount to be deposited as collateral.
The margin corresponds to the amount reserved on your trading account to cover any potential loss of an open position on CFDs. A loss may exceed the required margin.
The margin requirements vary from one instrument to another and may be changed at any time to reflect market conditions. For larger re-ratings or changes of margin requirements for very popular instruments, clients will be notified in advance where possible.
Margin requirements by CFD type and instrument are always listed under the CFD Trading Conditions on the trading platform, but can also be seen below.
Select one of the following stock markets to see the negotiable CFDs on this market on the Keytrade Bank trading platforms and their associated margin requirement. CFDs on shares have different margins, depending on the risk represented by the underlying share in terms of volatility and liquidity.
Futures - terms and conditions
Maintenance margin
Transactions in futures are realised according to a margin system offering a significant leverage effect. Furthermore, the impact on the market is much more substantial than the size of the investment.
Customers are required to permanently keep the maintenance margins listed under each contract in their account. If the funds in customers’ accounts fall below the required margin, they will be asked either to cover their positions with an additional deposit or to close their positions – customers will normally be informed via the trading platform and via email. If the situation is not resolved, Keytrade Bank reserves the right to close positions on behalf of the customer.
Partial execution
In case of partial execution of limit orders, the unexecuted fraction of the order remains on the market as a limit order and may be executed within the limits of the duration of the order.
Market orders can be executed at different levels. The price paid will be equal to the volume-weighted average price of all executions.
Special conditions for futures on the Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE)
Market orders are not accepted on all contracts. You use limit orders to achieve the ask/bid.
A limit buy order cannot be greater than the current bid, and a limit sell order cannot be less than the current ask. If the order is sent at a time when a fluctuation occurs in the market, it is likely to be rejected by the exchange. In this case, please resend the order.
Stop orders without a stop limit are not accepted on the platform. The limit price indicated in a stop limit order cannot exceed the limit price of three price ticks. If this is the case, the platform will present the order as accepted. However, please note that if the order reaches and/or exceeds the limit price, it will not be executed. In which case, the order will then be deleted from the system.
Maturity date of futures
Keytrade Bank does not provide physical delivery of the securities upon maturity of a futures contract. In addition, Keytrade Bank advises its customers to inform themselves of the maturity dates and first notice days of futures contracts in which they hold positions and to ensure to close them before the required dates, as explained below.
- If the first notice day is earlier than or the same as the maturity date, the positions need to be closed one business day before the first notice day.
- If the maturity date is earlier than the first notice day, the positions should be closed no later than the maturity date.
If futures positions are not closed before the relevant date, Keytrade Bank will close the position on your behalf at the first available opportunity at the prevailing market rate. Any resulting costs, gains or losses will be passed on to you.
Futures conditions
Note that times shown are those local to the stock exchanges. Please contact us should you have any enquiries regarding this document.
- Special conditions for Euronext Paris Commodities contracts (Matif)
For contracts in Milling Wheat, Corn, Rapeseed & Malting Barley, Keytrade Bank follows the rules of the stock exchange with effect in the 5 days preceding expiry. For instance:
- Short positions in such contracts may be closed within the five days preceding the first expiry date, every day at 16:00 CET.
- All open positions will be closed one day before the expiry date when the rules apply.
Any breach of these measures will result in the closure of positions by Keytrade Bank at the earliest opportunity and at prevailing market rates. All costs, profits or losses will be passed on to the customer.
Customers are welcome to contact Keytrade Bank for assistance or further explanation regarding the expiry of futures contracts.
Conversion of profits and losses
Conversions of transaction costs as well as profits and losses resulting from the transactions are made based on the New York closing price (17:00 New York time) plus/minus 0.5%.
Futures position management
We are using FIFO netting on futures positions.
This means that futures trades must be closed in the order they were opened; platform features which allow traders to close trades in a different order will be removed:
- Individual trades in a global position cannot be closed directly
- Traders cannot place related stop and limit order to close specific trades


Closing positions
To close or reduce a position, traders can place a trade using either the Close button on the position or by placing a trade using the Trade Ticket.
Related orders
Stop loss and take profit orders cannot be related directly to individual trades. Independent stop and limit orders can be placed instead and managed separately to the position – if traders manually close a position, they must also manually cancel any orders.