How to access the markets.
How to get MetaTrader 5, log in and place one small practice trade. Also what you can trade, and when the markets are open. Written for people who have never opened a trading app.
Get MetaTrader 5.
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the free app you trade on. Get it from the MT5 page, never from a link someone sent you.
Desktop.
The full program for Windows, with every chart and tool. The download link comes with your account, or use the MT5 page.
Phone.
The official MetaTrader 5 app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Sign in with your Clarity details. You can get an alert when a price you choose is reached.
Browser.
MT5 runs in any modern browser with nothing to install: Mac, Windows, Linux or Chromebook. Nothing is stored on the machine, so it suits a shared or work computer.
Log in.
Three details arrive by email when your demo (practice) account is created. A live (real money) account signs in the same way.
Your account number. MT5 calls it the login.
Your password. It is never stored on the device, and nobody at Clarity will ask for it.
The server name. It points MT5 at Clarity's trade servers.
MT5 open on your desktop, phone or browser.
Open MT5. When it asks you to log in, type your account number, password and server name. You sign into a live account from the same MT5 as the demo, so there is nothing to relearn. If the email has not arrived, message the support desk.
What you can trade.
2000+ markets in five groups. Each is a CFD: you gain or lose the price change, never owning what you trade.
FX: currencies.
Foreign exchange: one currency priced in another. EUR/USD is the euro in US dollars. You gain or lose the price change and never own the currency. See the forex page.
Indices.
A group of company shares priced as one number, like the S&P 500, US 100, DAX and FTSE. You trade the whole group as one market.
Commodities.
Gold, silver, oil and natural gas, traded from the same account as your FX.
Shares.
Share CFDs on names like Apple, Tesla and Nvidia, from the US, UK and Europe. Trade the price up or down without owning the share.
Crypto.
Bitcoin and Ethereum only, as CFDs. You do not need to buy or store any coins. They trade around the clock, including weekends.
When the markets are open.
All times are in UTC, the world clock that London uses in winter. Hours can shift at daylight-saving changes and public holidays.
| Open (UTC) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| FX | Sunday 22:00 to Friday 22:00. | Trading passes through Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York. Busiest when London and New York overlap, 13:00 to 17:00. |
| Crypto | Around the clock, seven days a week. | Bitcoin and Ethereum only. Open on Saturday and Sunday. |
| Indices | Monday to Friday. Hours vary by index. | Each index keeps the hours of its stock exchange. Check the exact hours in MT5 or on the trading hours page. |
| Commodities | Gold and silver: Sunday 23:00 to Friday 22:00. Oil and gas: Monday to Friday, 23:00 to 22:00. | Gold and silver keep different hours from oil and gas. Check each market in MT5 or on the trading hours page. |
| Shares | Monday to Friday. Hours vary by exchange. | Each share keeps the hours of its home stock exchange. Check the exact hours in MT5 or on the trading hours page. |
Find a market and open a chart.
Three parts of MT5 you will use every time: Market Watch, the chart and the order ticket.
Open Market Watch.
Market Watch lists markets and their live prices. Each market shows two prices: sell and buy. The gap between them is the spread, your cost to trade. Find EUR/USD; MT5 shows it as EURUSD.
Open its chart.
The chart draws the price over time. On EUR/USD, prices move in pips. A pip is 0.0001, the fourth decimal place. Watch it move for a minute before you do anything.
Open the order ticket.
The order ticket is where you place a trade. Set the size, choose buy or sell, and set a stop-loss: a price that closes the trade for you. Check every field before you place it.
Place your first trade.
One small trade on EUR/USD, on the demo first. The aim is to learn the ticket, not to make money.
Choose EUR/USD.
Open the order ticket from the EUR/USD chart. It is one of the most traded pairs, so its spread is among the smallest. On a Standard account the spread, 0.8 pips, is the whole cost.
Set 0.01 lots.
A lot is the unit of trade size. 0.01 lots is the smallest trade. At that size a 30-pip move on EUR/USD is about $3, gained or lost. That is roughly 10 cents a pip.
Set a stop-loss.
A stop-loss is a price where MT5 closes the trade, limiting loss. Set it about 30 pips from the current price: at 0.01 lots, about $3. Fast markets can close it at a worse price.
Choose buy or sell.
Buy if you think the euro will rise against the dollar. Sell if you think it will fall. Traders call these going long and going short. Pressing one opens the trade at the current price.
Watch it.
Your open trade shows its profit or loss, updated as the price moves. The number will swing both ways. Leave the stop-loss where it is, and do not open more trades.
Close it.
Close it yourself from your open trades, or let the stop-loss do it. Your result is the pips gained or lost, minus the spread. Repeat on the demo until the ticket feels familiar.
Questions new traders ask.
Words and worries that come up in the first few days. If yours is not here, ask the support desk.
01Do I need to download anything?
02Can I trade on my phone?
03What is a lot?
04What is a stop-loss?
05What happens if I leave a trade open overnight?
06What is leverage?
Open MT5 and place a practice trade.
A demo runs the same MetaTrader 5 with practice money and needs only an email address. Place the trade above until the ticket feels familiar.
Trading CFDs on a live account puts your capital at risk and you can lose money. A demo does not.