How to place a market order in MetaTrader 5

You can use MetaTrader 5 to send a market buy or sell order for a symbol and then check the resulting position. You need to be logged in, connected to the trade server and have the symbol visible in Market Watch or Quotes; the symbol's trading hours, execution mode and available order types are broker-dependent.

Before you start

Open Market Watch and confirm that the symbol is listed and receiving quotes. If it is missing, use the symbol list or Symbols command to make it visible. Check the symbol's Specification window from the Market Watch context menu. The fields Trade, Execution, Minimal volume, Maximal volume, Volume step, Filling and trading sessions determine what the terminal can send. The terminal may show Bid and Ask prices, but a broker's execution rules determine how the request is handled.

Your account can use netting or hedging. A netting account has one position per symbol. A hedging account can have several positions in the same symbol. This affects how a later deal changes the position, not how you open the order window. The official executing-trades help describes the order fields and the available ways to open the window.

On desktop

In Market Watch, select the symbol and open its context menu. Click New order. You can also press F9, choose New order from the Tools menu, or click New order on the Standard toolbar.
In the order window, confirm the Symbol field. Select the market execution mode in Type if it is not already selected. The wording and available execution modes depend on the symbol and broker configuration.
Enter the required Volume. Use the volume format and step accepted by the symbol. The current Bid and Ask are shown in the order window.
If required by the order window, enter Stop Loss and Take Profit. Leave either field at its null value if you are not setting that level with the order. Any minimum distance is checked by the trade server.
Add an optional Comment if the field is available.
Check the direction and click Buy or Sell. A market buy is generally executed against the Ask and a market sell against the Bid, but the final execution details are returned by the server.
Wait for the result. If the request is accepted, the open position appears in the Trade tab of the Toolbox window and the order and deal appear in History.

In the web terminal

Open the symbol in Market Watch and use the web terminal's New Order control or the symbol context command.
Select the market order type, enter the permitted volume and review any available stop fields.
Select Buy or Sell and confirm the result in the trading area.

The web terminal supports market and pending orders, but its layout can differ from the desktop terminal. The broker's enabled order types, execution mode and trading sessions still control what is available. If the web terminal does not show a field, it is not available through that current order workflow.

On mobile

Open Quotes on iPhone or Android and locate the symbol. On iPhone, Quotes is in the bottom panel. On Android, open the side panel and tap Quotes.
Tap the symbol to open its context menu, then choose Trade, or use the trading command available when you swipe the symbol row on iPhone.
In the trading screen, choose the market operation, enter the volume and review the displayed price and optional stop fields.
Tap Buy or Sell and confirm the result in the Trade tab.

The iPhone and Android layouts differ. Both support market operations, but the exact position of the navigation panel and quick commands follows the operating system's app layout. Mobile also offers one-click trading from a chart when that feature is enabled.

What happens next

An accepted market order normally creates a position immediately, although one order can produce more than one deal. In the desktop Trade tab, the position row shows the symbol, type, volume, open price, current price, Stop Loss, Take Profit, swap and profit fields where applicable. In mobile, tap the position row for its details. On a netting account, a new deal can increase, reduce, close or reverse the existing position. On a hedging account, it can create a separate position.

The History tab records the order and executed deal. An order is the instruction sent to the server. A deal is the executed transaction. Check the ticket, volume and execution price in the history record to confirm what was accepted.

Common problems

Invalid volume: the volume is below the minimum, above the maximum or not aligned with the symbol's volume step. Check Specification and correct the volume.
Invalid stops: a Stop Loss or Take Profit is inside the minimum permitted distance or on the wrong side of the current price. Check Specification and the Bid/Ask used for the position.
Market is closed: the symbol is outside its trading session or trading is currently disabled. Check the symbol's sessions and Trade field in Specification.
No Buy or Sell control: the account is disconnected, the symbol is close-only or trading is not permitted. Check the connection and Specification.
The result differs from the displayed quote: execution is based on the available price and the symbol's execution mode. Check the deal price in History.