How Markets Discover Prices

A market brings potential buyers and sellers together. The bid is a buying quotation, the ask a selling quotation, and a completed trade establishes the last price. Available quantity matters: a visible quote may cover only a small order. New information can alter willingness to trade, but a price movement alone does not identify its cause. The rules available on a particular Iranian venue must be checked in its current notice; overseas order terminology is useful for understanding mechanics, not proof that every order type exists locally.

Worked example (hypothetical)

A buyer bids 1,000 rial for 100 units; a seller asks 1,020. The spread is 20 rial. A buy limit of 1,010 cannot match that seller merely because the last trade was 1,005.

Check your understanding

Is the last price an executable promise? No. Look at time, bid/ask quantities and venue status before interpreting it.

Sources, reviewed 5 October 2026

• Types of Orders