<p>A <strong>market order</strong> in the stock market is an instruction to buy or sell a security at the best available price. It's executed immediately at the current market price, ensuring the trade goes through promptly.</p>
<p>Market orders matter because they're ideal for urgent trades, like entering or exiting a position quickly. However, they may result in a slightly higher or lower price than expected due to market fluctuations. For example, if you place a market order to buy 100 shares of XYZ stock at 1:00 PM, you'll get the best available price at that moment, but it might differ from the last traded price due to market volatility.</p>