Buy Today, Sell Tomorrow (BTST)

Buy Today, Sell Tomorrow (BTST) — also known as Acquire Today, Sell Tomorrow (ATST) — is a short-term trading strategy in which an investor purchases shares in the cash equity market one day and sells them the next trading day, before the shares are formally credited to their Demat account through the standard T+1 settlement process. BTST exploits the fact that shares purchased today are credited to the buyer's Demat account by the next business day (T+1 settlement) — but the investor can sell those shares the next day without actually having the shares in their Demat account, because the exchange's settlement system nets the buy and sell obligations. The primary risk in BTST trading is short delivery — if the original seller of the shares (from the T day purchase) fails to deliver the shares on settlement day, the broker may be unable to provide the shares for the BTST sale, creating an auction situation with potential penalty costs. BTST is used by traders who identify a positive catalyst overnight — a strong quarterly result, a major contract announcement, or positive global market cues — and wish to take advantage of the expected next-day price appreciation without holding the position beyond intraday. BTST trades in India are settled as delivery trades (not intraday) — they attract Securities Transaction Tax on both the buy and sell legs, stamp duty on the buy side, and the applicable DP charges when shares are eventually debited for settlement, making the transaction cost structure different from pure intraday trading.