Conditional orders are orders that are executed automatically, once the price on the market reaches a specific level set by the investor
The idea behind the conditional orders is simple – the trader has a possibility to define precise conditions that should be met, in order to open a new position on the market. Once defined, such a conditional order is activated when the market price reaches a specified level, and if the funds are available on the account the new position is opened.
The new price may be more favourable than the current market price (in the case of buy limit and sell limit orders) or can be less favourable (buy stop and sell stop orders). As can be seen from the name itself, the new opened position may be either long (buy stop, buy limit, buy stop limit orders) or short (sell stop, sell limit, sell stop limit).
The most popular types of conditional orders include:
- Buy limit – order to purchase a contract in the future at a predefined price that is more favourable (lower) than the current market price.
- Sell limit – order to sell a contract in the future at a predefined price that is more favourable (higher) than the current market price.
- Buy stop – order to purchase a contract in the future at a predefined price that is less favourable (higher) than the current market price.
- Sell stop – order to sell a contract in the future at a predefined price that is less favourable (lower) than the current market price.
- Buy stop limit – this is a new feature of the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. This order allows one to set a new Buy limit order once a price on the market reaches a new level higher than the actual market price.
- Sell stop limit - this is a new feature of the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. This order allows one to set a new Sell limit order once a price on the market reaches a new level lower than the actual market price.
The conditional orders topic is covered in two sections:
- Why to set conditional orders? - with an explanation of reasoning behind the main types of the conditional orders available.
- How to set such orders? - technical details concerning the creation, modification and removal of conditional order