| - If trading's only done between individuals, - AND there are no market makers / liquidity pools, - AND none of the holders of a stock have external pressures to sell (futures/options), - AND the business itself hasn't filed for bankruptcy Then no: The last traded price will be non-zero, and all sellers will have withdrawn from that market, as without external pressures, sellers will just wait out until buyers return to the market. In the interim, the price would remain fixed to the last traded price until trades resume. It is fundamentally irrational to sell a stock at 0 under these narrow circumstances, when compared to the infinitely better option of just waiting until market trades resume. Otherwise, yes. - MMs/LPs create 'synthetic buyers' by facilitating order fulfillments, taking on some risk in hopes of making a return via the spreads in between buy & sell orders. Their participation, even in extreme circumstances, mean that price discovery continues even when everyone wants to withdraw from the market. - Futures & options create obligations for buys/sells in the future due to the nature of said instruments. - The bankruptcy portion is self-explanatory: A stock is worthless is there's no business to back the claim up. |