DealBook® How-To: Trade from the Charts

The ability to react quickly to market changes is essential to protecting profits and minimizing risk. DealBook® 360 offers you a variety of ways to trade, including the ability to enter, adjust and close orders directly from the charts in just a few easy steps.

To buy at the current price while protecting your position:

1. Right-click anywhere in the chart.
   
   
2. A menu will appear, allowing you to select the type of order you'd like to place. Select "P&C buy at..." to open a parent and contingent order window.
   
   You can also place other types of orders from this menu, as well as perform a wide range of other operations.
   
   
3. The new order window will open, which will allow you to enter the market and set a stop and a limit, all with one order.
   
   Since you selected "P&C buy" from the right-click menu from the chart, the parent order type and operation (buy or sell) and the current price will already be filled in for you. The price updates in real-time within the order window, but due to the nature of a market order, immediate execution is guaranteed but price is not, so the price at which your order is executed could differ slightly.
   
   
4. Select the price at which you'd like your stop order to be executed. You can choose to set the stop order as a guaranteed stop, if it is available on the market you're trading (extra charge applies). You can also choose to set the order as a trailing stop by checking the appropriate box and selecting the distance that you'd like the stop to follow the market.
   
   You can help reduce your losses by setting a stop order. In this instance, since your first order was a buy order, you'd set your stop at a price lower than that at which you entered the market, based on your risk tolerance level. By setting a stop order, you are specifying the price at which a counter trade will automatically be placed to close your parent order, thus helping to limit potential losses.
   
   
5. Select the price at which you'd like your limit order to be executed.
   
   Limits are set to help protect any potential profits. In this example, since your first order was a buy order, you would set a limit order at a price greater than that at which you opened your parent order – with the goal of buying low and selling high. If the market reaches your specified price, a counter trade will automatically be placed to close the position you opened above, which may help you get out of the market with a profit.
   
   
6. When either your stop or limit order is executed, you can choose to automatically cancel the other one so it is not placed by checking the box next to OCO (order cancels order).
   
   If you don't set the order as an OCO, another order will be opened when the market reaches the price specified by your stop or limit order that hasn't yet been filled.
   
   
7. Adjust the size of your trade by choosing the number of lots you'd like to trade.
   
   
8. Click "submit" to confirm and execute your parent market order.

Your market order details will be displayed in the open positions window, and your stop and limit details will be shown in the working orders window (working orders are orders such as stops or limits that have not yet been filled).

All open and working orders will be displayed visually by dotted lines on your chart, which will allow you to view your complete order setup at a glance.

It’s that simple!

As the market moves, you can adjust your orders on the fly for maximum speed and efficiency — without ever leaving the charting interface.

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Ask a Techie

	Why is it important to view historical market data and how can I view it within DealBook® 360?
	When performing technical analysis, it is helpful to have as much precise historical data as possible to try to forecast future market movements. Many technical trading tools use historical data when forecasting prices; traders believe that markets are not random and follow certain repeated patterns or trends.

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