Maximise your trading potential: A comprehensive guide to placing orders in MT5. Learn how to execute market orders, manage pending orders, and optimise your trading strategy.
How to Place a New Order in MT5
There are three ways to place a new order and access the New Order interface:
Number 1: From the toolbar
Click ‘New Order’ in the toolbar.
Number 2: From the menu bar
Click ‘Tool’ in the menu bar and select ‘New Order.’
Number 3: Right-click on the chart
Right-click on the chart, and select ‘Trading’ and ‘New Order’.
Execute a Market Order from the order interface
Below are the steps for executing ‘market orders’ using the order interface in MT5:
- Select your Symbol
Choose the Symbol/ trading instrument (currency pair, commodities, indices, share CFDs, or Bullion ) you wish to trade. - Select the Type
Choose ‘Market Execution’ to place a market order. - Volume
Specify the position size in Volume.
1 lot does in FX = 100,000 units of base currency unit.
1 lot CFD trading in Indices and Shares = 1 trading unit for CFD's
1 lot for CFD commodities, can vary from 100 units for Gold, 5000 units for Silver, to 10,000 units for Natural Gas. - Stop-Loss/Take-Profit levels
You can set the closeout levels (Stop-Loss and Take-Profit), for the Position opened by Market Execution.
Note: You can choose either prices or points to set the Stop-Loss and Take-Profit levels. For detailed instructions, please refer to the last section of this article: ‘Set Stop-Loss or Take-Profit levels from the order interface’. - Comment
If you want to add comments or notes to the order, you can do so in the Comment section. - Sell by Market / Buy by Market
After setting all the order details, click ‘Sell by Market’ or ‘Buy by Market’ to place the market order.
Execute a Pending Order from the order interface
Below are the steps for executing ‘pending orders’ using the order interface in MT5
- Select your Symbol
Choose the Symbol/ trading instrument (currency pair, commodities, indices, share CFDs, or Bullion ) you wish to trade. - Select the Type
Choose ‘Pending Order’ to place a new order (limit or Stop). - Select the Type
Choose the Buy/Sell Limit or Buy/Sell Limit order:
Buy Limit: An order to buy at a price lower than the current market price.
Sell Limit: An order to sell at a price higher than the current market price.
Buy Stop: An order to buy at a price higher than the current market price.
Sell Stop: An order to sell at a price lower than the current market price. - Volume
Specify the position size in Volume.
1 lot does in FX = 100,000 units of base currency unit.
1 lot CFD trading in Indices and Shares does = 1 trading unit for CFD's
1 lot for CFD commodities, can vary from 100 units for Gold, 5000 units for Silver, to 10,000 units for Natural Gas. - Price
After setting Buy Limit, Sell Limit, Buy Stop, or Sell Stop orders, go to the ‘Price’ section and specify the value. - Stop-Loss and Take-Profit
Set the ‘Stop-Loss’ and ‘Take-Profit’ levels in prices or points
Note: You can choose either prices or points to set the Stop-Loss and Take-Profit levels. For instructions on how to proceed, refer to the last section of this article: ‘Set Stop-loss or Take-profit levels from the order interface’. - Expiration and Expiration date
You can set the order's Expiration date. In addition to ‘GTC (Good Til Canceled)’ and ‘Today,’ you also have the options of ‘Specified’ and ‘Specified Date - Comment
If you want to add comments or notes to the order, enter them in the Comments section. - Place
After setting all the order details, click ‘Submit’ to place the order.
Set Stop-Loss or Take-Profit levels from the order interface
- Click ‘Tools’ in the MT5 menu bar and select ‘Options.’
- In the ‘Options’ window, navigate to the ‘Trade’ tab.
- To specify Stop-Loss levels in prices, go to the ‘Stop Levels’ section and select ‘In Price’. Selecting ‘In Points’ will allow you to set stop-loss levels in points (1 point = 0.1 pips).
This article and its contents are intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered trading advice.
