Futures trading in MetaTrader 4
[info_block align="right"]Trading futures in MT4 terminal is almost no different from regular trading. [/info_block]
Most beginners and more or less experienced traders do not even realize that the most popular MetaTrader 4 terminal allows you to trade not only traditional assets - currency pairs, metals, stocks - but also futures.
Futures trading in MT4 terminal is almost no different from regular trading. Both there and there the well-known laws and rules of fundamental and technical analysis work, price charts are built, pending orders and technical indicators are used in the same way. In principle, any trader can easily switch to futures trading, of course, taking into account the peculiarities of the futures market, which we will focus on below.
Remembering what futures are
First, in case anyone has forgotten, it's worth remembering what futures are. Futures are a contractual arrangement to buy or sell a standardized quantity of a specified asset at a specified future date, at a price fixed at the time of the transaction.
In simple words, by buying a certain futures, the trader assumes the obligation to repurchase its full value at the end of the expiration date. If by the end of the expiration date the price of the futures has increased, the trader makes a profit; if it has fallen, the trader makes a loss.
Futures are used for the following purposes:
- insurance against accidental price fluctuations at the time when the actual purchase/sale of the goods agreed in it will take place;
- of speculative operations.
Since trading is speculation, we are interested in the second option. Therefore, most traders do not wait until the end of the futures contract term, but close the deal at acceptable changes in price.
Where to find futures in MetaTrader 4 terminal?
So, you have decided to trade futures after all, not wanting to change the trading terminal. As a rule, you can open the chart of the necessary futures contract through the menu "File" - "Open Chart". But what to do if the futures are not displayed there?
To do this, find the "Symbols" tab in the "View" menu or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + U.
Clicking on the "Symbols" tab, we get to the list of categories of assets available for trading, among which we find futures.
At the broker given in the example, the available futures are divided into their own categories, which makes it easier to find them. For example, we have decided to trade gold futures. Go to the Futures Metal tab and find a futures contract with a suitable expiration date. Let's say it will be the February gold futures. Click "Show" and the asset will be displayed in the "File" - "Open Chart" menu.
Now all we have to do is click on it to open the February gold futures chart.
What is the peculiarity of futures trading?
- And here the first peculiarity of futures trading comes to light. Unlike the usual charts named GOLD or XAU/USD, the open chart is labeled as #GCG7. This is not a mistake, as some may think. The fact is that each futures contract has its own code. Therefore, before you start trading in the securities, it will not be at all unreasonable to study codes of interest.
- The second difference between futures trading and traditional trading is the timing of trading. In the foreign exchange market, trading is conducted around the clock, while futures are traded only during certain trading sessions.
So how can we find out the time of trading in the futures we need? Very simple. Go back to the Futures Metal tab, select our February gold futures and click on "Properties".
After that, a window will appear from which you can find out all the properties of our futures, including margin, tick value and, in fact, the time of quoting and trading of the futures.
Results
[info_block align="right" linkText="How to choose the expiration date of a binary option?" linkUrl="https://mr-trader.com/binary-options/kak-vybrat-srok-ekspiracii-pri-torgovle-binarnymi-opcionami" imageUrl="http://files.fortrader.org/uploads/2014/11/expiraciya-binopcionov-395×293.jpg"]The expiration time directly affects the profitability of a binary option. How to determine it correctly?[/info_block].
It is worth understanding that the MetaTrader 4 terminal is just a program that does not care what you trade. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to find out whether your broker provides futures trading services, otherwise, you can click on "View" - "Symbol" a hundred times, but you will not find them there.
Absolutely, futures trading in the terminal MetaTrader 4 practically does not differ from the usual trading in currencies. The most experienced traders use specialized trading platforms for trading futures contracts, where the process is somewhat different from the one presented in MT4. But this does not change the essence of the matter.
According to statistics, more than half of futures traders make a stable profit, while only 5-10% traders in the currency market can be called successful. So, whether it is worth trying to trade futures in MetaTrader 4 terminal or remain a follower of currency pairs only is a question that requires attention.
It's a bait-and-switch. I don't know where you found such statistics, but futures traders lose no less. One Chicago broker with a long experience told me that profitable traders are 10% in the industry as a whole, the rest are losing and this is their statistics. You are right about one thing, that on futures, if you know how, you can earn more stable, because forex brokers do not like traders to earn, no matter what anyone says. Even if a broker says that he has NDD or STP, it's all bullshit - when you start to make normal money, they all screw up. Futures, especially through americans (brokers) is the most reliable.