Markets¶
In cTrader, market data and prices mirror real market conditions, allowing you to see how each symbol behaves at any moment. Symbol availability varies by broker, and pricing depends on their liquidity providers (LPs) and other trading conditions, whether you trade on a live or demo account.
Symbols¶
When you start trading, you view the symbol price movement on a trading chart and place buy or sell requests with your broker for that same symbol.
A standard symbol consists of two parts: the base asset and the quote asset. The base asset is the first asset in the symbol and represents what you are buying or selling. The quote asset is the second asset and shows how much of it is needed to purchase one unit of the base asset.
Example
EURUSD
EUR – base asset
USD – quote asset
The price shows how many US dollars are needed to buy one euro.
cTrader is a multi-asset FX/CFD trading platform that supports a wide range of markets across various asset classes, including forex, metals, energies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and more.
Note
The instruments available for trading in your cTrader depend on your broker and their setup.
Prices¶
cTrader displays the current (spot) price, which is the real-time market rate of an instrument and reflects the most recent price at which it can be immediately bought or sold.
When you view prices in cTrader, you will always see two values for each symbol: the bid and the ask. Together, they reflect the current buying and selling interest in the market and are essential for understanding how your trades are executed.
The bid price is the price at which you can sell an asset. It represents the highest price a buyer in the market is willing to pay.
The ask price is the price at which you can buy an asset. It represents the lowest price a seller in the market is willing to accept at that moment.
Example
GBPUSD 1.33474 / 1.33480
1.33474 – bid price
1.33480 – ask price
The table below shows how bid and ask prices are quoted by brokers, interpreted by traders and used in cTrader when opening or closing positions.
| Price | Broker | Trader | Used in cTrader for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bid | Buys at this price | Sells at this price | Selling (closing a buy or opening a sell position) |
| Ask | Sells at this price | Buys at this price | Buying (opening a buy or closing a sell position) |
Note
cTrader is a non-dealing-desk platform, meaning your broker cannot manipulate prices and must operate according to transparent and fair trading practices.
Spread¶
The spread is the difference between the ask and bid prices of a symbol. It represents the cost of entering a trade and is also an important indicator of market liquidity. Under true market conditions, the spread may widen or even become negative. Key factors influencing spread include LPs, broker settings, trading session, news announcements, market sentiment and more.
Example
EURUSD 1.16531 / 1.16535
Spread = Ask - Bid = 1.16535 − 1.16531 = 0.00004
0.00004 = 0.4 pip
USDJPY 155.093 / 155.099
Spread = Ask − Bid = 155.099 − 155.093 = 0.006
0.006 = 0.6 pip
Note
In cTrader, symbol prices are displayed with extra precision – down to pipettes (the fifth decimal place: 0.00001).
In forex, a pip is typically the fourth decimal place (0.0001) for most currency pairs.
Market sentiment¶
Market sentiment is the market "mood" – whether participants are broadly bullish (expecting prices to rise) or bearish (expecting prices to fall). It does not replace technical analysis, but it is a useful context layer that can help you avoid trading against a crowded move, or spot moments when a trend is overstretched.
cTrader displays market sentiment as the percentage of client accounts that expect an instrument price to rise or fall. This data is aggregated from all connected cTrader servers, providing a cross-broker overview of how traders are positioned (buy vs sell) for a given market.
Liquidity¶
Liquidity is the availability and depth of buy and sell orders in the market, determining how easily trades can be executed in cTrader without significantly affecting the price. It depends on a broker’s liquidity providers and their server configurations.
Brokers can have different configurations of counterparties, which act as variables between brokers and affect many trading conditions – both those listed above and others such as market depth.