This is not investment advice. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any financial product.
MetaTrader's charting tools are one of the main reasons the platform has remained popular for over two decades. The charting is fast, the interface is intuitive, and the toolset is comprehensive enough for most technical analysis strategies. The charting tools are the foundation of the platform's analytical capability, and the stock trader who uses MetaTrader should master them.
The charting tools include the chart types, the time frames, the indicators, the drawing tools, the chart templates, the chart objects, and the custom tools. Each tool serves a specific purpose, and the trader should use the tools that match the trading strategy.
The chart types
MetaTrader supports three chart types. The candlestick chart is the most popular, and it shows the open, high, low, and close for each time period as a candlestick. The bar chart is similar, and it shows the high and low as a vertical line with the open and the close as horizontal dashes. The line chart shows the closing price as a line, with the individual price points connected.
The candlestick chart is recommended for most stock traders, because the candlestick patterns (doji, hammer, engulfing, harami) are a useful source of trading signals. The line chart is useful for the long-term trend analysis, where the individual candlesticks can be confusing.
The time frames
MetaTrader offers 21 time frames in MT5 (from 1-minute to monthly) and 9 time frames in MT4 (from 1-minute to monthly). The time frames are grouped into the short-term (1-minute, 5-minute, 15-minute), the medium-term (30-minute, 1-hour, 4-hour), and the long-term (daily, weekly, monthly).
The trader should use the multiple time frames in the analysis. The longer time frame shows the trend, the medium time frame shows the swing direction, and the short time frame shows the entry and the exit. The trader should also use the multi-chart window, with a separate chart for each time frame on the same screen.
The indicator library
The MetaTrader indicator library includes more than 50 built-in indicators. The trend indicators (moving averages, MACD, Ichimoku, Parabolic SAR) are the most commonly used. The oscillators (RSI, stochastic, CCI, Williams %R) are used for the overbought and the oversold levels. The volatility indicators (Bollinger Bands, ATR, standard deviation) are used for the volatility measurement.
The volume indicators (volume, on-balance volume, money flow index) are used for the volume analysis. The Bill Williams indicators (Alligator, Accelerator, Awesome Oscillator) are used for the momentum measurement.
The trader should use the indicators that match the strategy, and the trader should use a small number of indicators to avoid the clutter. The most effective charting setups use 2-4 indicators per chart.
The drawing tools
The drawing tools are used for the support and resistance levels, the trend lines, the channels, and the Fibonacci levels. The tools include the trend line (a line drawn on the chart to connect the swing highs or the swing lows), the horizontal line (a line at a specific price level), the vertical line (a line at a specific time), and the channel (two parallel lines that contain the price action).
The Fibonacci tools include the retracements (the levels where the price may reverse in a trending market), the extensions (the levels where the price may extend in a trending market), and the time zones (the time periods where the price may reverse).
The geometric tools include the rectangle (a rectangle drawn on the chart), the ellipse, and the arrow. The tools are used to mark the price ranges and the time ranges that are relevant to the strategy.
The chart templates
The chart templates are saved chart layouts that include the indicators, the drawing tools, the time frame, and the chart type. The trader can save the template for each strategy, and the trader can apply the template to any instrument with a single click.
The chart template is the most efficient way to set up the charting for a strategy. The trader creates the template once, and the trader applies it to every stock the trader is analysing.
The chart objects
The chart objects are the objects that can be added to the chart to enhance the analysis. The objects include the text labels (a text label at a specific price and time), the arrow labels (an arrow with a text label), the buttons, the checkboxes, the input fields, and the panels. The chart objects are used by the custom indicators and the Expert Advisors.
Related resources
Where to start
If you are evaluating MetaTrader's charting tools, the most useful first step is to download the platform, open a demo account, and set up a chart with the candlestick type, the daily time frame, the 50-period and 200-period moving averages, and the RSI indicator. Our broker comparison lists the MetaTrader brokers and the available products, which together tell you what the platform looks like before you open a live account.