When you trade shares with Selfwealth, you are participating in a market with other buyers and sellers, who will submit their own 'bids' and 'offers' respectively.
These bids and offers are shown in the 'market depth' (also known as 'depth of market'), which allows traders to make informed decisions when buying and selling shares.
For example, using market depth you can:
- see whether there are more buyers or sellers
- view the difference between the best bid and best offer (also known as the 'spread')
- see how many units of stock are available at each price point
Market depth is available for ASX and Hong Kong-listed stocks and ETFs. Market depth is not available for US securities, due to differing market structure.
Please note: for ASX securities, market depth only shows trading activity on the ASX and does not include smaller exchanges such as Chi-X.
How do I view market depth?
You will see market depth when you view a stock using the 'Stock Analysis' or 'Buy or Sell Stock' screens.
To view market depth on the 'Stock Analysis' screen:
1. Log in to the Selfwealth website
2. Type the name or ticker code of the stock you want to look up into the search bar and select the desired result.
3. Click on the Market Depth tab
To view market depth on the 'Buy or Sell Stock' screen:
1. Log in to the Selfwealth website
2. Click Buy or Sell Stock on the left-hand navigation bar
3. Type the name or ticker code of the stock you want to look up into the 'Search Stock' bar and select the desired result.
4. Market depth will be displayed in the bottom-right.
How do I read market depth?
Market depth consists of two tables - one representing buy orders (1) and another representing sell orders (2). Orders are listed in descending order from best price (higher for buyers, lower for sellers) to worst price (lower for buyers, higher for sellers). Orders at better prices will always be filled first.
The number of orders at each price point will be shown on the extreme left (buyers) and right (sellers).
You can view the individual orders at each price by clicking the arrow ( 
) icon next to the relevant price level. Market depth is live, and can be updated by clicking the Refresh button (3). Clicking See All (4) will show additional price levels lower down in the queue.
