Scott, I also read the big debate over the price of QNTM in after hours trading. But generally the individual investor doesn't belong to the brokerages which offer after hours trading, so what difference does it make what the price is a half-hour or an hour after regular trading is done? I can appreciate your concern about gap-ups, because that often happens, particularly in this volatile market. My advice would be to not place market orders to be executed at the open. If you aren't available to trade during the day, then you should use a limit order. Particularly these days, when there is a gap-up of 50-100 points on the DOW, the rally fades going into the forenoon anyway, and then you can still get a limit order filled.
I've also been burned placing market buy orders before the market opens. In the worst instance, I had to leave for a scheduled vacation, and I wanted to buy a certain stock before I left, so I placed the market buy order late the night before. The stock gapped up from 19 to 22, then fell back to 19 on the same day. Guess what price my market order filled at? 22. Since then I haven't used market buy orders in the morning. In fact, I hardly ever buy during the first hour of trading.
DK |
