Most of the time a submitted buy or sell order in the stock market can be canceled. It could be rejected or canceled by a brokerage firm if, for example, you placed a buy stop order that is below the current market price, or a sell stop order price has already been reached. Or perhaps you placed an order with a broker that does not handle the stock you are interested in buying.
However, any market order for let's say 200 shares of Never Cancel Inc. is executed immediately, so it would be next to impossible to cancel. But a limit order such as "buy 100 shares of Never Cancel Inc. when it hits $20 a share," should give you time to cancel either online or through a broker.
There is also such a thing as "Fill or Kill" orders. Let's say you wanted to buy 500 shares of a stock but only 400 shares are available at the price you wanted. Since the entire order can't be completed, it will be canceled. To add to the list, there are one-cancels-the-other orders (OCO). Johnny Trader thinks Take a Chance On Me Inc. might break out and go up above the current price range of $25 to $50, but also wants to protect himself on the off chance he is wrong. So he places an OCO with a buy limit of $52 and a sell limit for $23. If the stock hits $52 the buy order goes through and the sell order is canceled. And alternatively, if it goes down to $23 the sell order is executed and the buy order canceled.
Related or Semi-related Video
Finance: What are At-the-Close Order and...24 Views
Finance a la shmoop.. What are at the close order and at the opening orders
Well simply put they're a way of buying and selling stocks and bonds and [Shmoop video on PC monitor]
they're really a hybrid form of a limit order only instead of limiting the order
of a hundred shares of Mickey D's at 45 bucks or better the "limit"
is time-based that is it is placed a minute or less from the close of the
market like 3:59 p.m. New York time or the open of the market like 9:31 a.m. New
York time got it so why would someone do this kind of limit order well if a [Man discussing limit order]
company that day before had printed what looked like a really good quarter but
upon deep inspection the investor who owned the shares thought otherwise and [Man inspecting company folder]
you know wanted to dump them well then that investor would want to take
advantage of a high opening print and just sell it whatever the price was a
minute or two after the open making the bet that the stock would then trade down
after bigger smarter better analysis was published on the stock itself and then
everyone else went to dump it - so what about an at the close order well kind
of inverse of the same thing here a company's quarter will be announced at [4:28pm shown on digital clock]
4:30 p.m. New York time tons of excitement leading up to it so
"everyone" wants to be long the stock ahead of earnings but you think
earnings will disappoint like you know buy the rumor sell the actual news kind
of vibe so you want to hold the stock until the last minute that day and then
you just give the guidance to sell the stock that last minute of trading or at [Investor sells stock to market]
the close and you're out and now we have arrived at the close of this video... Adios! [Man waving on stage]
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