What is a MT4 stock platform?
The following screen-shot below shows the main MetaTrader 4 interface showing what is a MT4 stock platform. As a beginner trader trying to learn how to execute stocks orders in the online stocks market, the main tool for trading the stocks market is the MetaTrader 4 stock platform software. This How to Use MT4 Review Tutorial for Stocks Trading Beginners will explain how you can use this MT4 stocks software to connect to your MT4 stocks broker and execute stocks transactions and monitor your stocks account balance from this MT4 stock platform that you will download from online MT4 brokers.
The MT4 Stocks Software is provided for free through the various stocks broker web sites. This stocks software looks like the stocks example illustrated and explained below:
What's a MT4 stock platform? - MT4 Stock Trading Platform Introduction Tutorial - Introduction to MT4 Platform Interface - MT4 Introduction Tutorial
Main Areas of this MT4 stock platform as shown above are:
- Navigation Menus
- Toolbars
- Chart Window
- Navigator
- Market Watch
- Terminal
- Connection Bars
For this MT4 Introduction Lesson we shall look at a brief introduction for each of these:
1. Navigation Menus
The navigation menus are:
- File
- View
- Insert
- Charts
- Tools
- Window
- Help
These are main navigation menus that can be used to navigate MetaTrader 4 software. As a beginner trader you can start by just clicking any of these navigation menus to familiarize yourself with the various buttons that are arranged as sub menus within these navigation menus on the MT4 platform.
These MetaTrader 4 navigation menus will be discussed in details in the next MT4 Introduction Tutorials about navigation menus.
2. Toolbars
The MT4 tool bars are used to manipulate stocks charts, either by placing stocks chart indicators, line studies, change stocks chart timeframes and load a stocks MT4 template from a list of saved chart templates.
These MetaTrader 4 tool bars will be discussed on other MT4 Introduction Tutorials which will outline each button on this MT4 tool bar and explain how to add MT4 stocks chart tool bars and how to customize MT4 stocks chart tool bars.
3. Chart Panel
This is the main area where stocks charts are displayed & a trader can analyze the stocks trend direction of a stocks chart whether up or down, place stocks chart indicators for technical analysis & even place stocks orders from these stocks price charts.
4. Navigator
Navigator window panel will contain information about stocks accounts, whether practice stocks account or real account, this window panel will also have a list of all MT4 indicators as well as EAs and scripts.
A trader can select which stocks account to login by expanding the Accounts menu, choose an indicator by expanding the stocks indicator menu or choose an Expert Advisor by expanding the stocks Expert Advisor menu.
5. Market Watch
Market watch is used to show streaming stocks quotes for stocks instruments. This can list as many stocks quotes provided by your stocks broker or a few chosen by a trader on the MT4 platform. To save internet bandwidth, right click inside the stocks market watch window and select "Hide All", so as to hide the stocks instruments that you are not trading & save on inter-net bandwidth.
6. Terminal
This is window panel that is like the bank account trade area for your stocks trade transactions, on this MT4 window you can view your stocks account balance, profit & losses statement, equity, margin used also retrieve a copy of all your stocks trade transactions history.
This will also list all open stocks trade transactions and calculate all the profit and loss in real-time as the stocks instruments stocks prices move upwards or downwards.
7. Connection Bar
MT4 connection bars on MT4 status bar - Red bars are for no connection, green bars show that there is connection to the broker servers and stocks trade orders can be placed. These MT4 connection bars should always be green when one logged into their demo stocks account or live stocks account.
These main areas form the MT4 interface and will be the main areas to be covered in detail in the next MT4 Introduction Stocks Trading Tutorials. For now it is best to download MetaTrader 4 platform & familiarize yourself with MetaTrader 4 platform interface.
Why Stocks Software is Required for Placing Stocks Trade Transactions with Brokers
Stock platform is software that's used to access the stocks market & interpret these stocks price movements using stocks charts and technical analysis tools. There are various reasons why a trader requires to use a good stocks platform. A good stocks platform can determine if a as a trader you make a profit or not when trading using the platform.
So why does a trader need a good Stock platform:
To connect to the Stocks Broker Trading Server:
To place a stocks trade order a trader needs to use a stocks platform that will connect to the trading servers of their stocks broker and allow them to open and close trade orders. Good stocks platforms will connect with ease to the brokers' servers and allow stock traders to place stocks orders at any time from their computer.
To analyze stocks charts using charts and stocks technical analysis tools
To place a buy or sell stocks order a trader needs to first analyze the direction of a stocks. This is why all good stocks platforms provide stocks price charts and stocks technical analysis tools such as, stocks technical indicators & various different chart timeframes from which trader can analyze stocks price moves using the stock chart time frames of their choice.
How to Use MT4 Guide
From the above MT4 stock platform interface - MT4 Introduction Tutorial, the summary of all information required by a trader is provided on this trading interface
- Connection - connection to the broker servers
- Charts - price graphs which display stocks prices movements
- Tool bars - chart tool-bars to add tools and technical analysis technical indicators
- Market Watch - for displaying available financial instruments
- Data window panel - provides stocks account information and other indicator data
- Exchange rates - shows current market stocks price on a stocks chart
- Menu bar - Shows all menu items on the MT4 platform
