Orders & execution
What is a Market-on-Close (MOC) order and how does it interact with the closing auction?
By Easy Money Scanner · Educational reference · Not investment advice
The short answer
A Market-on-Close (MOC) order executes at the official closing price by participating in the exchange's closing auction, requiring submission before a specific cutoff time ahead of market close.
How it works
Closing auctions aggregate buy and sell interest to determine a single closing price, which is used for benchmarking by index funds and institutional portfolios that need exact closing-price execution.
An example
An index fund submits an MOC order to buy shares added to an index, ensuring it transacts at the exact closing price used for index tracking purposes.
Risk & limitations
MOC orders cannot be canceled after the exchange's cutoff deadline, so traders must be certain of their decision before submission time.
Examples are hypothetical, not trade recommendations. US contract and regulatory references do not automatically apply in Canada. Rules, margin requirements and broker policies can change; confirm them with the relevant authority and your broker.