It's likely that you've encountered MetaTrader 5 (MT5) more times than you can remember if you work as a prop company trader. Additionally, you must have the Market Watch tool mastered if you're serious about remaining on top of your game. It's your real-time market pulse, not simply a window displaying a random assortment of trade symbols.
Let’s discuss the MT5 Market Watch feature step by step.
What Is the Market Watch in MT5?
In essence, MetaTrader 5's Market Watch window serves as your trading dashboard. All of the instruments (symbols) that are accessible for trading are listed there, together with the bid and ask prices in real time. It provides you with a brief summary of events in all of your selected markets, so think of it as your command center.
This is much more crucial when you're working with a prop company. There are regulations to adhere to, goals to achieve, and often a restricted range of instruments that you can trade. You can focus on the assets that are important to your plan by sorting through the noise in the Market Watch.
How to Open the Market Watch
Don't worry if you've never used the Market Watch before; it's quite simple to use.
- Simply select View from the toolbar at the top.
- Either press Ctrl+M on your keyboard or click on Market Watch.
- Just like that, it appears on your screen, generally on the left side.
A list of symbols with their bid and ask prices updated in real time is now shown in a neat small window.
The Layout: Simple but Powerful
As the market moves, the bid and ask prices for each trading instrument in your vertical list—such as EURUSD, GBPJPY, XAUUSD, and so forth—flicker.
Don't be fooled by its simplicity, though; this device is powerful.
Right-Click Menu: Your New Best Friend
Right-click any symbol and you’ll see a treasure trove of options:
- New Order: Opens the order window to place a trade.
- Chart Window: Launches a chart for that symbol.
- Depth of Market (DOM): Super useful if you’re a scalper or like to see order flow.
- Specification: Want to see contract size, spread type, swap rates, or margin requirements? Here you find all the info.
- Hide/Hide All/Show All: Organize your symbols just how you like them.
- Sets: Save custom symbol sets for different trading sessions or strategies.
Take a few minutes to play around with this menu—it’s one of the quickest ways to make Market Watch work for you.
Adding and Removing Symbols
This is one area where traders frequently are caught off guard, especially if they are new to a prop firm's platform. If a sign you wish to trade is not visible, it may just be concealed.
Here’s how to add it:
- Right-click anywhere in the Market Watch window.
- Click Symbols.
- You’ll now see a pop-up window organized into categories like Forex, Metals, Indices, Crypto, etc.
- Click the group you're interested in, select the symbol, and click Show.
Simply right-click a symbol in the list and select Hide to organize things up and get rid of unnecessary items. That's how easy it is.
You generally only need a few symbols as a prop trader nonetheless; limit yourself to those on the list of permitted assets for your company. Your attention will be sharper if your workstation is tidy.
Watching the Bid/Ask Spread Like a Hawk
The ability to watch the bid-ask spread in real time is among Market Watch's strongest features. This can seem insignificant but those spreads have the power to make or break your trade if you're trading on strict risk limitations which are enforced by the majority of funded firms.
Assume that your company only permits a maximum 5-pip stop loss and that you are scalping EURUSD. Before you even start the transaction, you have already lost more than half of your breathing room if the spread climbs to 3 pip during poor liquidity. Not the best.
So, keep an eye on the spread column (you can enable it by right-clicking in the Market Watch and selecting Spread from the context menu). It’ll save you from blindly jumping into trades with wide spreads—especially during rollovers, holidays, or major news events.
Time and Last Price Columns: Optional But Handy
Want to see the exact time of the last quote or the last traded price? You can turn those on, too:
- Just right-click inside Market Watch and select Time and Last.
These columns aren’t essential for everyone but they’re nice to have if you’re more into the data-driven side of things. They also give you more insight into how active a particular instrument is—especially useful during slower market hours.
One-Click Trading: Speed Is the Name of the Game
Prop traders live and die by execution speed. That’s why MT5 trading platform includes one-click trading right from the Market Watch window.
Here’s how to activate it:
- Right-click on the Market Watch panel.
- Select One Click Trading.
- You’ll now see a little panel next to each symbol with BUY/SELL buttons.
Be careful though—once it’s on, clicking those buttons executes trades instantly at market price. No confirmation dialog. It’s fast but you need to be sure of your entries.
If you're trading fast-moving assets like S&P 500 futures or gold, this can give you a serious edge.
