Watchlists and Charts

The watchlist

Platforms open with dozens of symbols showing. Remove all but the pairs you trade and the few you watch for context; five to ten is plenty. Each row shows bid, ask and usually the day's change. On MetaTrader the watchlist is called Market Watch, and right-clicking gives you spreads, tick charts and the symbol specification, which lists contract size, pip value, swaps and trading hours and is worth reading once for every pair you trade.

The chart

• Timeframe: each bar or candle summarises one period; start on the daily and one intraday timeframe such as the hourly.
• Chart type: candlesticks for most purposes; the next course explains why.
• Scale: linear is standard; logarithmic only matters over years.
• Indicators: none to begin with, then one or two you understand.
• Drawing tools: horizontal lines for levels, trend lines, and a rectangle for zones.

Reading the chart

Price on the vertical axis, time on the horizontal, latest price on the right. The chart shows the bid at most brokers, so the ask is a spread above it; a buy order sits slightly higher than the chart suggests and a sell stop triggers slightly earlier than it looks. Templates and profiles let you save a layout and apply it to every pair, which saves hours.

Good habits

One layout, applied consistently, so that every chart looks the same and differences are in the price rather than the settings. A higher timeframe for context and a lower one for entries. And an alert on levels you care about, so that you are not staring at a screen waiting.

Key takeaways

• Cut the watchlist to the pairs you trade and read each symbol's specification.
• Start with candlesticks on a daily and an hourly chart with few or no indicators.
• The chart shows the bid; account for the spread.
• Save a template and use alerts.