The FXCM Trading Station gives traders the ability to make five different types of orders:
Market Order
This is your order to buy or sell at the price available at that time. In the Dealing Rates window, simply go to the currency pair you want and click on its buy or sell price.
The "Create a Market Order" window will appear, and you will see the current, updated price in the rate window. Here you can select your order type:
At Market (default) = Execution Certainty
Your entire order will be filled at the best available price(s) at the time the No Dealing Desk System receives it. These prices include our mark-up, which may vary based on account type and liquidity provider. §
The order will usually be filled at the price you see on the screen. Occasionally, however, if the market has moved while you are making your order, the price may differ.
Market Range = Price Certainty
Use this option to limit your order to being filled at your price, or within a certain distance of the current price.
Example: If you set the Market Range to 5, as much of your order as possible will be filled no more than 5 pips away from the current price. If the price suddenly moves more than that, the order will not be filled. The advantage here is Price Certainty.
Adding Stops and Limits
You can add FIFO compliant stops and limits to your market order using the Advanced Button.
To learn more about how to use stops and limits on the trading station, please see the section for stops/limits.
Close Order
You can easily close your position using the Close Order. To make a close order, select the position you want to close in the Summary window, and then click on the Close button at the top of the Trading Station.
A Close Position(s) box will appear where you can select how much you want to close in this order. Choose the amount you want to close in the Amount (K) field, and click OK to confirm. If you select less than the total amount you currently have open in that position, then only that amount of the position will be closed out, on a first-in first-out basis. If you close more than the outstanding amount in your trade, your entire trade will be closed, and the excess amount will be opened in the opposite direction.
Closing Positions Directly From the Summary Window
If you prefer, you can close positions directly from the Summary Window. Each trade in the Summary Window has a Close column that shows you the current market price at which you can exit the trade. In the case of a Long position, the Close Sell column will be used. For Short positions, the Close Buy column is used.
To close your position, simply click directly on the appropriate Close column for that specific trade. The Close Position(s) box will appear and you can confirm your order.
Closing Positions in One-Click Trading Mode
To close positions with one click, you must be in either One-Click or Double Click Trading Mode. Click on the appropriate Close column for your position, as described in the instructions for Closing Positions Directly From the Summary Window above. This will close out all open positions in that currency pair. There will be no confirmation window.
Entry Order
This option allows a trader to buy or sell at a price different from the current price. Use this to automatically open a trade for you when the price you designate is reached, whether your computer is on or not. There are two types of Entry orders:
Stop Entry
This is an order to make an "At Market" market order when the market touches a specific price. Use it when you want to enter the market at a less-favorable price than the current price (higher price if buying, lower if selling).
Why might you want a worse price? Example: The EUR/USD is currently 1.36415. You believe that the price reaching 1.40000 will confirm a continued upward trend—and a profitable trade. You also think that if it does not reach 1.40000, the price will fall. You therefore want to buy only if the price reaches 1.40000, and you do so with a Stop Entry order to Buy at 1.40000.
Limit Entry
This is an order to enter the market at a better price than the current one. Limit orders are only filled at a designated price or better. When buying, lower prices are better, and when selling, higher prices are better. (Since FXCM No Dealing Desk execution allows you to place orders anywhere, you can even use limit entries to place orders inside the spread—to gain incremental price improvements.)
To make either a Stop or a Limit Entry order, click on the "Entry Button" at the top of the trading station, and choose the parameters of your order in the "Create an Entry Order" box.
Adding Stops and Limits
You can add FIFO compliant stops and limits to your market order using the Advanced Button.
To learn more about how to use stops and limits on the trading station, please see the section for stops/limits.
OCO Orders
OCO stands for "One Cancels the Other." It simply means that if one part of the order is executed, the other part will be automatically canceled. On the FX Trading Station, Entry Orders will appear under the "OCO Orders" tab. Traders can link protective stop-loss and limit entry orders as OCO. Learn More.
Stop and Limit Orders
Stop orders allow traders to specify a price they would like to automatically exit a position if the market is not going in their favor. Limit orders perform the opposite function, by automatically exiting a position at a specified price when the position is going in the trader’s favor. Stop and limit orders are pending or ‘waiting’ orders. This lets a trader manage their risk even while away from their computer.
Trading Station II allows you to create stop and limit orders pre-execution using market and entry orders or post-execution using net stops or net limits.
Adding stops and limits while creating market orders
You can create stops and limits for a given currency pair’s net position while creating market orders. This allows traders to manage their risk before entering the market.
To set a Stop or Limit Order: Click on the “Advanced” button from the “Create Market Order” window, select the appropriate check boxes, and enter your desired prices.
Any stop and limit orders that you create will appear in a special section of the “Orders” window (see image below) labeled “Stop/Limit.” The size of your newly created orders will be the same size as the market order created. Stops and limits are not linked to specific trades but instead to the net position for a given pair. Stops and limits function as OCO orders.
Example: A trader wants to place an order to buy 10K EUR/USD at the market price of 1.4100 with a Stop 400 pips away at 1.3700. To do so the trader simply clicks the advanced button in the “Create Market Order” window, checks the “Stop” box, sets the stop price for 1.3700, and then clicks “OK.” A new 10K EUR/USD trade is then entered and the stop order appears in the “Stop/Limit” section of the “Orders” window. If the market reaches the stop price of 1.3700, the stop order will trigger to sell 10k EUR/USD.
Adding Stops and Limits While Creating Entry Orders
You can create pending stops and limits for a given currency pair’s net position while creating entry orders. This allows traders to manage their risk before entering the market.
To set a Stop or Limit Order: Click on the “Advanced” button from the “Create Entry Order” window, select the appropriate check boxes, and enter your desired prices.
After creating your entry order, the order will appear in the “Orders” window of the trading station. The stop and limit prices can be seen in the “stop” and “limit” columns. Once the entry order triggers and the trade executes, the stop and limit orders will move to a special section of the “Orders” window titled “Stop/Limit.” Stops and limits are not linked to specific trades but instead to the net position for a given pair. Stops and limits function as OCO orders.
Example: A trader wants to buy 10K EUR/USD if the market price (currently at 1.3800) falls to 1.3700. The trader can do this by placing an entry order to buy 10K EUR/USD at 1.3700. To manage risk and potential profit for this order, the trader adds a stop 100 pips below the entry order price at 1.3600 and a limit 100 pips above at 1.3800.
Net Stop Order
FXCM LLC (US Entity) customers can use Net Stop Orders to help manage their risk, and to prevent one trade from wiping out an account. This order automatically closes every position you have in any one currency pair at the best available price once a certain price is reached. A Net Stop can only be set at a price less favorable than the current price.
Example: You buy several positions of EUR/USD, totaling 100,000 units, with an average entry price of 1.47927. You want the positions to close automatically if the EUR/USD moves 100 pips against you. So, you set a Net Stop Order at 1.46927. This stop will apply to ALL open positions in the EUR/USD in your account.
To Set a Net Stop Order: You can enter a Net Stop Order by selecting a currency pair in the "Summary" window, and clicking on the "Stop" button.
Once a Net Stop has been set, you will see the Stop price in the Stop column in the "Summary" window.
If the Close Sell price touches 1.46927, all of your open positions will be automatically closed, with the loss subtracted from your balance.
Net Limit Order
A Net Limit Order works much like a Net Stop order, but you set it to automatically close your trade when the more favorable price you selected is reached. Set a Net Limit Order as you would set a Net Stop Order; the Net Limit appears in the Limit column in the "Summary" window.
Once the market reaches 1.49927, all positions will automatically close, and the profits will be added to your balance.
OCO stands for "One Cancels Other." It simply means that if one part of the order is executed, the other part will be automatically canceled. On the FX Trading Station, Entry Orders that are linked as OCO orders will appear under the "OCO" section of the Orders window. For example, the two 30K EUR/USD sell positions shown below are linked as OCO. If one of these entry orders executes, the other order will be deleted.
Types of OCO Order
You can choose to make either "Simple OCO Orders" or "Complex OCO Orders".
Complex OCO Orders
Complex OCO orders allow you to link 2 or more entry orders to each other as OCO orders. These orders can be all in one currency pair, or across many currency pairs. There are several different ways to set Complex OCO Orders.
Method 1:
You manually place two (or more) entry orders (see how to create entry orders here). In the Orders Tab, you will see the two entry orders. To link them as OCO (one cancels other), simply right click on one of the Order ID numbers under the Order ID Column and select "Complex OCO".
A box will appear with your existing available entry orders. To link your orders as OCO you can select them individually and click "Add", or you can Select All. You will then see these orders move into the "OCO Orders" section of the box. Click "OK" to complete the order. You can even link as many orders as you like in this way.
Method 2:
If you already have an OCO order in place, you can click on an order and drag it around the Orders Window. If you drag an Entry order into the OCO section and your mouse pointer turns yellow, you can let go and the order will drop in as a new OCO order. If you click and drag an order over another order, your mouse pointer will turn green. Then you can drop the order and it will become OCO with the order you were pointing at.
Execution
The moment that any one of the entry orders that is a part of your Complex OCO Order executes, all the other order(s) in that OCO will be canceled, and will disappear from your Orders Window.
“Simple” OCO Orders offer you a way to make 2 linked Entry Orders in the same currency pair with just a few clicks.
How to Create Simple OCO Orders
In the Dealing Rates window, right-click on the currency pair that you want to trade, and choose “Simple OCO”.
In the Simple OCO box that appears, you can set the trade size, and choose if you want both orders to be Sell orders, Buy orders, or one of each. When you click OK, your new OCO orders will appear in the Orders window.
The “Sync Rates” box is checked by default. When the "Sync Rates" box is checked, and you change either of the entry order prices, the software will automatically determine what the other entry order’s price should be. If your order is for a Buy and a Sell, the software will set the 2 entries an equal distance from each side of the current market price, and link them as OCO.
When the "Sync Rates" box is NOT checked, you can enter whatever values you wish for each order. They will still be automatically linked as OCO.
Some Uses for Simple OCO Orders
Simple OCO orders are well suited to taking advantage of range breakouts or pullbacks in a trend. For example, before an important news event, the market will often move sideways in a range. When the news is released, the price could break to the upside or to the downside. If you are expecting a break in either direction, you could place a Simple OCO order to buy above the range and to sell below the range.
When a currency pair is trending, the price will often pull back within the larger move of the uptrend, while other times, the price will break support or resistance and continue its trend. You can set the OCO order to buy above resistance and to buy at the trendline.
