Disclosed quantity (DQ) is the portion of an order that is displayed to other participants, and it is the term used on Indian stock exchanges for the visible slice of an iceberg order. The main entry explains how such orders work in general. On the trading systems of NSE and BSE, which are regulated by SEBI, an order entry screen has a field for disclosed quantity alongside the total quantity. A trader who wants to buy 50,000 shares may disclose only 5,000.
Only the disclosed part appears in the order book. When it has been executed, the trading system releases the next slice of the same size, and this repeats until the whole order is filled or cancelled. The purpose is to hide the true order size, since showing a very large order can move the price before it is filled, a cost known as market impact.
Exchange rules set a minimum share of the total order that must be disclosed, and the feature is normally available only for a limit order in the regular trading session. The hidden part generally ranks behind displayed orders at the same price, so a trader gives up some queue priority in return for concealment.