Opening auction

An opening auction sets the first official price of a session from accumulated orders. It matters less than the close for valuation purposes but is thinner, and therefore cheaper to move.

instruments and markets · updated 2026-11-06

Where does opening auction come up?

This term is used in the following manipulation techniques, each explained in full on its own page.

• Marking the open — Marking the open is trading into a market's opening auction or first minutes to move the official opening price, which is thinner and cheaper to influence than the close but still feeds benchmarks and guarantees.

See also

• Closing auction — A closing auction gathers orders into a single batch to set the official closing price. Concentrating the close into an auction im…

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