Risk Academy
Stop hit. The candle never touched it.
A short with its stop at 4119.77 closed for a loss of $7.80 while the highest the candle reached was 4119.56. Nobody moved the stop. The candles and the stop were reading two different prices. The chart shows Bid. A short closes on Ask.
What happened, frame by frame
| Moment | Bid (sell) | Ask (buy) | What MT5 showed |
|---|---|---|---|
| The short opens | 4118.99 | 4119.20 | SELL 0.1, -2.10 USD at once |
| Stop placed | SL 4119.77: -7.80 USD, 78 points | ||
| Just before | 4119.53 | 4119.74 | The stop is 0.03 above the Ask |
| The hit | 4119.56 | 4119.77 | Position closed at the stop: -7.80 USD. Candle high: 4119.56 |
Two prices, one chart
- Every symbol has two live prices. Bid is what you can sell at, Ask is what you can buy at, and the gap between them is the spread.
- On forex and CFD symbols, MT5 builds the candles from Bid. Instruments with a depth of market can chart the last traded price instead, so check what your symbol shows.
- MetaQuotes' own help says it plainly: the Ask price is not displayed on the chart, so it cannot be seen, unless you switch on its line.
Which price checks your stop
Long (buy)
Stop and target checked against Bid
Opens at Ask, closes at Bid. The candles are Bid, so what you see on the chart is the price that triggers your stop and your target. The spread shows up at the entry: you start one spread below where you bought.
Short (sell)
Stop and target checked against Ask
Opens at Bid, closes at Ask. Ask sits one spread above Bid, so compared with the candles your stop is closer than it looks and your target is farther. A short's stop can trigger with the candles still below it, and the candles can touch its target without the trade closing.
In money, the spread is paid once either way: on the way in for a long, on the way out for a short. What changes is only what the chart lets you see.
When the gap gets bigger
The spread is not fixed. It tends to widen around the daily rollover and around news, and the hidden Ask line moves up with it. A short's stop that sits close to the price can then be reached by the spread widening alone, with no new high on the chart. The cost side of this is on the real cost of a trade, and the timing side on news trading.
Switch the Ask line on
- Android: tap the chart to open the round menu, open chart settings, and turn on Ask Price Line.
- iPhone: in the app's settings, open Charts and turn on Ask Price Line.
- Desktop: in the chart's settings, turn on Show Ask price line.
With both lines on the chart, a stop above a short can be read against the price that will actually close it. If you place a short's stop just above a level you drew on the candles, remember that the Ask reaches it one spread before the candles do.
Before you call it a stop hunt, check the Ask
A stop that closes without the chart reaching it is a familiar complaint. This page does not say a stop is never hit unfairly. It says the first thing to check is the Ask at the moment the stop triggered. In the trade above, the Ask was exactly at the stop, 21 cents above the candle high, and the spread was the same as when the trade opened.
The stop sets the size
Sources
- MetaTrader 5 Help, Basic Principles: buy at Ask, sell at Bid; which price checks Stop Loss and Take Profit
- MetaTrader 5 Help, Chart Settings: bars built from Bid, the Show Ask price line option
- MetaTrader 5 for Android Help, Charts: Ask Price Line
- MetaTrader 5 for iPhone Help, Chart settings: Ask Price Line
- The trade in the film: a screen recording of MT5 mobile, 7 October 2026, read frame by frame. Checked 7 October 2026.
Educational content only, not financial advice. Nothing here is a trade idea. Spreads, execution and platform features vary by broker, account type and market conditions.