An order type that remains active until it is either executed or manually cancelled by the investor, unlike day orders that expire at market close.
A Good Till Cancelled (GTC) order is a type of trade order that remains active in the system until it is either fully executed or explicitly cancelled by the investor. It does not expire at the end of the trading day like regular day orders. This order type is particularly useful for investors who want to buy or sell at a specific price without having to re-enter the order daily.
In many global markets, GTC orders can remain active for weeks or months. However, in Indian markets, the implementation varies by broker. Most Indian brokers (including Zerodha, Groww, and Angel One) do not offer traditional GTC orders on the NSE exchange level — all equity orders placed on the exchange expire at the end of the trading day if unfilled.
To simulate GTC functionality, some Indian brokers offer "GTT" (Good Till Triggered) orders. Zerodha's GTT feature, for example, allows investors to set a trigger price. When the stock hits that price, a limit order is automatically placed on the exchange. GTT orders can remain active for up to one year. This is functionally similar to GTC — you set a buy price for HDFC Bank at Rs 1,550 (current price Rs 1,650), and if it drops to Rs 1,550 anytime in the next year, the order is automatically triggered.
GTT orders are valuable for long-term investors who track multiple stocks and want to accumulate positions at specific value levels without daily monitoring. For example, you might set a GTT buy for Infosys at Rs 1,400 (10% below current price), TCS at Rs 3,400, and Reliance at Rs 2,300 — then forget about them. If any stock reaches your target during a Correction, the order triggers automatically.
Limitations of GTT/GTC in India: orders may not execute if the price gaps past the trigger level (e.g., trigger at Rs 1,550 but the stock gaps down to Rs 1,520 — the limit order may fill at a worse price or not fill at all). Network failures or broker system outages during trigger time can cause missed executions. Also, GTT orders do not account for fundamental changes — if you set a GTT buy at Rs 1,550 six months ago but the company's fundamentals have deteriorated since then, the automated order might trigger a purchase you would have reconsidered manually.