What Is a Best Ask?
A best ask (also known as a best offer) is the lowest offer price from competing market makers or other sellers for a quoted security. The ask (offer) price is effectively the lowest price a seller is willing to take for an asset, and is the most favorable price a buyer could expect to pay using a market order at that time.
The best ask is complemented with the best bid, which is the highest price a market participant is willing to pay for a security at a given time.
Key Takeaways
- The best ask (best offer) refers to the lowest offer price available from among sellers quoting a security.
- The best ask represents the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for an asset.
- The best ask is half of the national best bid and offer, or NBBO.
Understanding Best Ask
In financial markets, potential buyers are said to offer their purchase price by stating a "bid" offer or price. The ask is the other side of a transaction. The ask price is the price a potential seller is willing to offer a security for purchase at. Because various brokers, agents, and investors each have a unique price they're willing to buy and sell at, a range of possible price levels is maintained in an order book or electronically. The best ask is simply the lowest (or best) price someone is willing to sell a basket of securities at.
A best ask may also refer to the lowest price that a given individual market participant is willing to sell, in which case it would be their best ask, and not necessarily the market's best ask.
National Best Bid & Offer (NBBO)
The National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) are the bid and ask prices that traders and investors typically see. Active traders, short-term traders, and day traders will often study Level 2 quotes that include all the current bids and asks for a particular trading instrument. The NBBO is continually updated throughout the trading session so that customers have access to these prices.
The NBBO helps ensure that all investors receive the best possible price when executing trades through their broker without worrying about aggregating quotes from multiple exchanges or market makers before placing a trade. This helps to level the playing field forretail traderswho may not have the resources to always seek out the best prices across multiple exchanges.
The lowest ask price and the highest bid price are displayed in the NBBO and are not required to come from the same exchange. The best bid and ask price from a single exchange ormarket makeris called the "best bid and offer" rather than the NBBO. Dark pools and otheralternative trading systemsmay not always appear in these results given the less transparent nature of their businesses.
Traders that want to execute orders larger than those available through the NBBO should use an exchange or market maker’s depth of book data orLevel IImarket maker screens to know the other potential bid and ask prices that they could use to execute their order.
Example of Best Ask
For example, wirehouse brokers such as Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, UBS, and Wells Fargo will all independently come to a selling price they're willing to sell stocks held in inventory at. Naturally, an investor wants to purchase (buy) at the lowest possible price. By adding the instructions to purchase at only the "best ask," they're ensuring the best possible price.
Trouble arises when only a certain amount of a given security is available at the lowest price. For instance, Morgan Stanley may have an ask price of $25.00/share for company ABC's stock, and they're willing to sell 25,000 shares at that rate. If a customer executes an order to purchase 30,000 shares at the best ask price, Morgan Stanley's lot wouldn't entirely fill the order request. Here's where other trading instructions come into play, such as all-or-none and allowance for a trade to be split.
FAQs
When you're asked in a work situation:
- “Pretty good. Just finishing up on [work task].”
- “I'm doing well. I just [share a recent win or update].”
- “A bit stressed. ...
- “I've had a whirlwind of a week, but I'm hanging in there.”
- “It's been a rough week.”: Depending on the situation, this might be a good, honest reply.
How do you respond to how's everything? Fine, thanks, Excellent, Terrific, Great, Good, Not bad , So so, OK, Not great, Not so good, Terrible, Don't ask . The last one means, things are not good, so don't ask ... Phrase.
How to write good short answer responses? ›
Short answer questions in exams
- Deconstruct the question. ...
- Rephrase the question in your own words.
- Plan the structure of your answer before starting to write. ...
- Use examples to give evidence and help give your writing credibility.
- Use plain language and keep your writing straight to the point.
When asking questions in English, the correct form is “How does it work?” This structure follows the standard rule for asking questions in English, where we use a helping verb ('does' in this case) followed by the subject ('it') and then the main verb ('work').
How do you respond to a work question? ›
How to respond to questions effectively
- Prepare for tough questions. ...
- Pause before responding. ...
- Monitor your body language. ...
- Reword the question. ...
- Take more time if you need to. ...
- Acknowledge the other person's emotions. ...
- Answer a portion of the question. ...
- Ask questions about the question.
11 Flirty Responses to “What's Up?”
- Better now that I'm hearing from you! ...
- Feeling pretty beautiful/handsome today, but not as beautiful/handsome as you are!
- I'm really busy, but counting down the hours until (insert the date when you'll see them again).
- I was just thinking of you and wondering how you look today.
You could reply with 'not much, hbu? ' "Wassup" is a slang word for a greeting between friends. It is similar to saying "hi".
How's it going to reply flirty? ›
Tell your crush or partner how much you miss them.
- “The rain sure is gloomy, but your text brightened my day ”
- “Just wishing teleportation existed so I could see you this very second.”
- “It's going well, but not as well as it could be with you in my arms 😉”
"How are you?" "I'm great. How are you?" "How are you? I'm good, how are you?" "I'm great, how are you?" "I'm okay, how are you?"
What to say when someone asks how are things? ›
Answers to “How are you?”… when you're keeping it simple, upbeat, and brief
- I'm feeling shiny and optimistic. ...
- I'm looking forward to a great day. ...
- I'm grateful to be alive and healthy. ...
- Things are going pretty well, honestly. ...
- Never been better. ...
- I'm doing pretty great, thanks for asking.
A good response is persuasive; therefore, it should cite facts, examples, and personal experience that either refutes or supports the article you're responding to, depending on your stance.
How do you give a good response? ›
Speak directly and clearly when you respond.
- Make sure they're paying attention to you so you don't have to repeat yourself.
- Recognize if someone else wants to speak and allow them room to talk as well.
- Allow the person to respond to what you've said as well.
How's work?: How are things with your job? Is your professional life going well? idiom.
How is work today or how was work today? ›
If you are asking the person presently- in the moment- yes it is. If work has ended and the person has left, and is now at home then it would be “how was work?” , past tense-already happened/happened prior to asking.
How to answer what is your work style? ›
Be brief. You can't mention every aspect of your work style in your response, most likely, so focus on the elements that demonstrate your best qualities and fit with the job at hand. Give examples. Consider including a brief example that emphasizes your work style.
What is the best way to answer a how question? ›
In short, explain the problem (how, and why), then explain the solution (what, how, and why), and finish by linking the point back to the thesis in question. Rinse and repeat this three times. For a great example of how this is effectively done, see Olivia Shoemaker's 2017 NSDA IX Final speech.
