Stock Trading-Transactions.?

ON Friday, I have bought stocks of this canadian company (805 @ $12.42 Cad) + $9.95 (CAD Commission).

The exchange rate at taht time was 1 cad= 1.007 USD.

On the order form it showed the estimated value at 10,088.00 USD.-since I wanted the settlement in US Dollars.

Now being Saturday I went online to check the transactions and it showed 805 shares @ $12.43 - debit $10,181.00 USD.

Does anyone know how this could be?

I am going to call the broker on Monday but just wanted some insight to this.

This was my first trade ever.

Thanks.

Now being Saturday I went online to check the transactions and it showed 805 shares @ $12.43 - debit $10,181.00 USD.

***I meant it shows at 12.42 (not 12.43)

The transaction shows that I recieved the price at 12.42

When you put in your trade it will give you an estimated order total. This isn't the exact price your trade is guaranteed to be settled at. For one thing you are probably looking at the stock price with a 20 minute delay when you buy it. Even seconds can make a difference in stock trading. Your order isn't filled right away, and it depends what the bid/ask price is at the exact second your trade goes through.

Less than $100 isn't really that big of a difference, especially when you are also dealing with exchange rates fluctuating on top of the stocks. I bought a US stock (I'm Canadian) and I should have almost a $200 gain by now based on my estimated total but really it's only around $80.

Look at your average price per share in your account, it won't be $12.42.

Let's look at some numbers. You bought the stock at $12.42 + $9.95. That's $9,998 + $9.95 = USD10,008.05. This translates to $10,088 USD.

The statement shows your cost of $12.43 per share and the market value which increased since you bought the stock. The commission increased your cost from $12.42 to $12.43 CAD. The market value depends on the closing price of the stock the day before.

All securities are priced at the end of the day when using different currencies.

So, the estimated total, was based on the previous night's (Thursday's) exchange rate (hence the reason it it estimated).

The actual total will be based on Friday night's exchange rate.

Keep in mind, all financial institutions in North America are free to set their own exchange rates. Just because Yahoo says a Canadian dollar is worth $1.007 does not mean your bank will charge that, they usually charge a premium so that they too can make money (and their shareholders will be happy)