Market Watch and symbols

Market Watch is the price list on the left of the web terminal. It shows the instruments you chose, not every instrument your Broker offers, and the list is yours to build. Which instruments exist at all, and what they are called, is decided by your Broker or prop firm for your account.

Reading the list

Each row has four columns: Symbol, Spread, Bid and Ask.

• The spread is the gap between the bid and the ask, in pips, updated with every price. It shows in gray.
• The bid is the price you sell at, and the price a buy position closes at.
• The ask is the price you buy at, and the price a sell position closes at.

The thin bar at the start of each row changes colour with the last move, one colour for up and another for down, and flashes when a new price arrives. A dash in place of a price means the instrument has had no price yet. Hover over a symbol to see the instrument's full name.

Instruments are ordered by group, the way your Broker groups them, for example forex, metals, indices and crypto, and alphabetically inside each group. If the names are cut short, drag the divider between Market Watch and the chart to widen the panel.

Click a row and the chart switches to that instrument. The symbol list in the chart toolbar holds the same instruments, for when Market Watch is out of view.

Adding and removing instruments

Press the + button in the Market Watch header, labelled Add / Remove Symbols. The Market Watch Symbols window lists every instrument on your account, grouped, with a count such as "3 of 28" next to each group telling you how many of them are in your list.

• Press Add or Remove next to any instrument. The list changes at once.
• Type in the search box to filter by symbol or by group name. Typing a group name, such as metals, shows only that group.
• Add All and Remove All act on what the search shows. Search for a group and press Add All to add the whole group. With the search empty they act on every instrument.

An instrument whose market is closed right now carries a Closed tag in this window. You can still add it. Its prices return when it opens.

If the window says no instruments are available, your Broker has not enabled any on this account yet. That is a question for them.

Trading an instrument that is not in your list

You do not need an instrument in Market Watch to trade it. The Symbol list at the top of the New Order ticket holds every instrument on your account, with its full name. Pick one there and the ticket switches to it, prices and margin included. The ticket itself is covered in Placing orders.

Where your list is kept

The web terminal keeps your Market Watch list in the browser you use. The first time you open it in a browser, it starts with a short standard list of gold and the main currency pairs, leaving out any your Broker does not offer. Another browser or computer starts from that list again.

The iPhone and Android apps keep their own list on the phone, for each account signed in there. On the Market Watch screen, tap Watchlist with the plus sign to add instruments, and use the search field to find them. Tap a row to open its chart. On the iPhone, press and hold a row for Open Chart, Buy, Sell and Remove.

Symbol names differ between Brokers

Each Broker names its own instruments. The same market can carry a different name, or an extra suffix, on another Broker's Server. If an instrument you expect is missing, search the Market Watch Symbols window by the start of its name or by its group. If it is not there, your Broker does not offer it on this account.

What the spread tells you

A wide spread in the Spread column means you pay more to open and close. It moves with the market and can widen, for example when a market opens. The spread and the other trading costs are explained in Spreads, swaps and commissions.