Market Depth — Live Bid / Ask Order Book (Level 2)

Search any NSE stock to see its live Level-2 order book — the best five bid and ask prices with order counts and quantities — alongside a price chart and company profile.

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What is market depth?

Market depth (also called the Level 2 order book or depth of market) shows the live queue of buy and sell orders waiting at different prices. It reveals the demand and supply just around the current price — the best five bid (buy) prices and the best five ask (sell) prices, each with the number of orders and the total quantity.

How to read the order book

ColumnMeaning
Bid priceWhat buyers are willing to pay right now (green side). The top bid is the best buy price.
Ask priceWhat sellers are asking for right now (red side). The top ask is the best sell price.
OrdersHow many separate orders sit at that price level.
QuantityTotal shares available at that price — larger quantities show stronger interest.
Total buy / sell qtyThe sum of all five levels — a quick read of near-term demand vs supply.

The spread and the balance

The gap between the best bid and best ask is the spread — a tight spread means a liquid stock. If total buy quantity far exceeds total sell quantity, near-term demand is stronger (and vice-versa).

How traders use depth

Liquidity check: deep, tight order books mean you can enter and exit large positions with less slippage.
Support / resistance: unusually large bid quantities can act as a short-term floor; large ask quantities as a ceiling.
Momentum read: a lopsided book (much more buying than selling, or vice-versa) hints at near-term pressure.
Entry precision: intraday traders place orders relative to the best bid/ask to improve fills.

Depth is real-time and changes fast

The order book updates continuously during market hours and can shift in seconds; outside market hours it may show the last snapshot. Large orders can also be pulled — depth shows intent, not guarantees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Market depth (Level 2) is the live order book showing the best five buy (bid) and sell (ask) prices for a stock, along with how many orders and how many shares sit at each price. It reveals near-term demand and supply around the current price.

The bid is the highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay; the ask (or offer) is the lowest price a seller is willing to accept. The difference between them is the bid-ask spread — a narrow spread indicates a liquid, actively traded stock.

They add up the shares queued across the five bid levels and the five ask levels. When total buy quantity is much larger than total sell quantity, near-term demand outweighs supply; the reverse suggests selling pressure. It is a short-term sentiment gauge, not a guarantee.

Yes — during market hours the bid/ask ladder streams in real time for the searched stock. Outside trading hours it shows the most recent available snapshot.

It shows liquidity and short-term supply/demand. Deep, tight order books let you trade larger sizes with less slippage, and large resting orders can act as temporary support or resistance — valuable context for intraday and short-term traders.

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