Bid Size

Bid size refers to the total quantity of shares or contracts that buyers are willing to purchase at the current best bid price — as displayed in the Level 1 or Level 2 market depth data of a stock exchange. It represents the aggregate buying interest at the highest price a buyer is currently prepared to pay for a security. In Indian equity markets, NSE and BSE display market depth (commonly called the order book) showing the top five bid prices with their corresponding bid sizes — providing traders with real-time visibility into the demand for a stock at various price levels. A large bid size at the current market price indicates strong buying interest and suggests that the stock is well-supported at that level, making downside moves less likely in the short term. A thin bid size — where very few shares are bid for at the current price — indicates poor liquidity and suggests that even small sell orders could push the price lower. For traders timing entry and exit in Indian equity markets, monitoring bid size relative to ask size (the sell-side equivalent) in the market depth window provides real-time information about the short-term supply-demand balance and likely price direction — particularly important for large-order execution in mid-cap and small-cap stocks with limited liquidity.