Trading Sessions
Markets are organised as call markets or as continuous trading markets. In a call market, trades can be arranged only when the market is called at a particular time and place. In contrast in a continuous trading market, trades can be arranged and executed anytime the market is open.
Execution Mechanisms
The three main types of market structures are quote-driven markets (sometimes called price-driven or dealer markets), order-driven markets, and brokered markets.
In quote-driven market, customers trade with dealers.
In order-driven markets, an order matching system run by an exchange, a broker, or an alternative trading system uses rules to arrange trades based on the orders that traders submit. Most exchanges and ECNs organise order-driven markets.
In brokered markets, brokers arrange trades between their customers. Brokered markets are common for transactions of unique instruments, such as real estate properties, intellectual properties, or large blocks of securities. Many trading systems use more than one type of market structure.
Market Information Systems
Markets vary in the type and quantity of data that they disseminate to the public. Traders say that a market is pre-trade transparent if the market publishes real-time data about quotes and orders. Markets are post-trade transparent if the market publishes trade prices and sizes soon after trades occur.
