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A position margined on its own

By default each position is held against its own margin and carries its own liquidation price, written on the ticket before you confirm, on the position’s row and on the chart. The position is liquidated when its price loss reaches the liquidation threshold of its margin: 84% up to 1:25, falling to 70% at 1:60 and above. The table is on Fees and spread. At liquidation the position is closed at the market, the loss is booked, and what is left of the margin goes back to the balance. The opening commission is charged to the balance and does not move the liquidation price. Each night’s swap does, and so does the borrow charge on a short share: both count against the margin, so the liquidation price moves a little closer every night the position is held. The price shown allows for the closing commission and for the nights already charged, so the position closes where the app says it will. A stop loss placed beyond the liquidation price does not protect the position: it is liquidated first. The ticket refuses or warns about such a level.

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An account margined as a whole

A trading account can be margined as a whole, in its margin mode dialog. Then the whole equity backs every position, no position has a liquidation price of its own, and the account’s margin level (equity over used margin) is what the risk reads.
  • At the stop-out level, 10% today, positions are closed one by one, the one losing most first, until the margin level is back above it.
  • A margin call level can be set above it by the desk. When the margin level falls to it, the app and a notification say so: deposit or reduce the exposure. The call is lifted once the level is back above it by a margin.

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Negative balance protection

A gap can take a position past its liquidation price before it is closed: at a market’s reopening, or on a very fast move. The loss is booked at the first price past the level. If that leaves the account below zero, the balance is reset to zero, so you do not owe more than what is on the account. This protection is on by default for every account.

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When a market is closed

Open positions stay open, the overnight swap keeps accruing, and waiting orders keep waiting. At the reopening the price can differ from the close, in your favour or against you: a stop loss or a liquidation fires at the first price past its level, not at the level. The hours of each instrument are on Markets and hours.

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When the desk halts trading

In an incident the desk can stop new positions on an instrument or a class, so that it trades close only; freeze an instrument whose price feed is lost, so that nothing on it trades until the feed returns; or hold automatic withdrawals for review. Take profits and stop losses keep settling on every instrument that quotes. The app says so at the top of the screen while it lasts.