lasttrade

Last trade refers to the price at which the most recent transaction for a security occurred on a given market. Also called the last price or last sale price, it serves as a reference point for the instrument’s current value and is commonly displayed alongside bid and ask quotes on trading platforms, tickers, and charts. The last trade is time-stamped to indicate when the transaction took place and may include the traded size or quantity.

Data sources and scope vary by market. In many equities markets, the last trade price comes from real-time trade reporting and consolidated tape feeds that capture executed trades on multiple exchanges. For fixed-income markets, broker-dealers and trade reporting facilities provide last sale prices, with variations by instrument and venue. In derivatives markets, the last traded price applies to the contract rather than the underlying asset.

Uses and limitations. The last trade is useful for quick reference to the most recent transaction, but it is not the same as the current best bid or offer and may not reflect immediate liquidity or price discovery, especially in fast-moving or illiquid markets. Last prices can be influenced by large trades, after-hours activity, or venue-specific reporting delays. Traders often supplement last trade data with other measures such as bid-ask quotes, volume, and intraday averages (e.g., VWAP) to assess market conditions.

Global applicability. The concept applies to equities, options, futures, and other traded instruments, with each market providing its own last trade feed and conventions for how and when prices are reported. See also: last sale price, real-time market data, consolidated tape.