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2003issue C091

Opening auction fills and the post-print tape

An opening-only order seeks only the single opening print. News or a pre-open indication revises the auction bid or offer, and the post-print tape then decides whether to keep the fill or exit and remain willing to re-enter.

  • An opening-only order participates in the single opening print and is not a later continuous-session fill.
  • Pre-open news or an imbalance indication is a reason to revise the auction bid or offer, not an automatic rule to cancel.
  • After an opening fill that immediately trades against the position, the next decision uses the tape of the broader market, the sector, the stock, and the size of subsequent trades.
  • If that post-print tape reading treats the move as persistent, the procedure is to exit and remain willing to re-enter if a more favorable price appears.
Entries in this reading3 entries
Current trackTape reading21 readingsOpening auction strategy28 readingsMarket order32 readings

The opening-only order

An opening-only order is defined as participation in the single opening print, not as a later continuous-session fill.

In the specialist auction described, a listed stock has a single printed price at only two times of day: the open and the close. That match is a single-price auction, in which all eligible opening or closing interest prints at one price rather than across a sequence of quotes.

Revise the auction, do not auto-cancel

Pre-open news or an imbalance indication is treated as a reason to revise the auction bid or offer, not as an automatic rule to cancel the order.

A pre-open indication is a published imbalance or indicated opening range used to move the auction bid or offer before the match.

The post-print tape and recycle

After an opening fill that immediately trades against the position, the next decision is based on the tape of the broader market, the sector, the stock, and the size of subsequent trades.

If that post-print tape reading concludes the move is persistent, the procedure is to exit and remain willing to re-enter if a more favorable price appears. Recycle means that same step: exit an adverse opening fill and remain willing to send a new order if a more favorable price later appears.

When the stock has not yet printed

An opening-only order may still be submitted after the broader market has opened if the individual stock has not yet printed its own open.

The specialist in that auction is described as typically standing on the same side of the opening imbalance as the opening-only participant.

Educational research material, not investment advice. Historical source context does not establish present-day performance.
7 of 20 in the Tape reading track
20041-1 pp.Next on Tape readingSpecialist prints, opening exits and live tape filtersA one-sided quote reset followed by a large print near the new quote is a tell that the specialist likely accommodated a negotiated block inside the updated national best bid and offer.
All readings on this track · 20 readings
  1. 1986Open outcry hand signals as order routing
  2. 1989Finishing a market order in a first index-pit session
  3. 2001Ticket charges, internalization, and hidden size on the tape
  4. 2003Opening auction indications, premium and print size
  5. 2003Listed open order routing and the short-sale tape
  6. 2003Opening indication, one-sided envelope, and the sector tape check
  7. 2003Opening auction fills and the post-print tape
  8. 2004Specialist prints, opening exits and live tape filters
  9. 2005A tape-reading case study of support, resistance, and breakout confirmation
  10. 2005Tape flips versus idle capital: a process critique
  11. 2005Read the tape, name the liquidity job, then route for price
  12. 2006Fill entitlement, hybrid routing, and pairs sequencing
  13. 2006Alerts over resting stops, with tape-reading at the exit
  14. 2006When crowd levels diverge from Fibonacci support
  15. 2008Perfect prints before the chart
  16. 2008Hidden size, tape delay, and pairs shorts belong in the trade rule
  17. 2010Inside the spread: why OHLC bars hide the buy-sell shift
  18. 2010Specialist pair books sized for dividends and tape
  19. 2016Tape reading as judgment under distraction
  20. 2018Tape-reading breakouts with increment stops
By fieldAuction and volume75 readingsBy year2003164 readings
All 21 readings tagged Tape reading
Also on Tape reading5 readings
2003Listed open order routing and the short-sale tape2003Opening auction indications, premium and print size2003Opening indication, one-sided envelope, and the sector tape check2004Specialist prints, opening exits and live tape filters1986Open outcry hand signals as order routing