Trading glossary.

101 trading terms in plain language, from A-book to swap.

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Instruments

Perpetual Futures

A perpetual future is a futures-style contract with no expiry date, kept close to the spot price by regular funding payments between long and short holders instead of an overnight…

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A

A-BookBroker & Execution: An A-Book broker routes all client orders directly to external liquidity providers without taking the opposite side of the trade. The broker earns revenue from spreads or commissions, not from client losses. This reduces the conflict of interest found in B-Book models and is also referred to as agency execution.
AML (Anti-Money Laundering)Broker & Execution: Anti-Money Laundering (AML) refers to the laws, regulations, and procedures that financial institutions must follow to detect and prevent the use of financial services for money laundering or terrorist financing. Regulated brokers are required to monitor transactions, report suspicious activity, and verify the identity of all clients. AML compliance is enforced alongside KYC requirements.

B

B-BookBroker & Execution: A B-Book broker acts as the counterparty to client trades, meaning when the client loses, the broker profits — and vice versa. This creates a structural conflict of interest. B-Book brokers are also called market makers or dealing desk brokers.
BacktestingAutomated Trading: Backtesting is the process of testing a trading strategy against historical market data to evaluate how it would have performed in the past. It helps traders assess the viability of a strategy before risking real capital. Results include metrics like win rate, drawdown, and profit factor.
BalanceBasics: Your balance is your account’s cash value from closed trades, deposits, withdrawals, commissions and swaps. It changes only when a position closes or a cash movement is booked. Equity, by contrast, also includes the floating profit or loss on open positions.
Base CurrencyInstruments: The base currency is the first currency in a forex pair. It represents the currency you are buying or selling. The price of the pair tells you how much of the quote currency (the second currency) is needed to buy one unit of the base currency. For example, in EUR/USD, the euro is the base currency and the US dollar is the quote currency.
Bear MarketMarket Structure: A bear market is a sustained period of declining prices, typically defined as a drop of 20% or more from recent highs. In forex, the term is applied more loosely to describe a currency or asset in a prolonged downtrend. Bear markets are driven by pessimistic sentiment, weakening economic data, or risk-off conditions. Traders can profit in bear markets by selling (going short).
Bid and AskBasics: The bid is the price you can sell at, and the ask (or offer) is the price you can buy at. The ask is always higher than the bid, and the difference between them is the spread. So when you buy, you pay the ask, and when you sell or close a buy position, you receive the bid. Both prices update continuously with supply and demand.
BreakoutTechnical Analysis: A breakout occurs when the price moves decisively above a resistance level or below a support level, often accompanied by increased volume or momentum. Breakouts signal the start of a new trend or the acceleration of an existing one. False breakouts — where the price briefly breaches a level then reverses — are a common risk, so traders often wait for confirmation before entering.
Bull MarketMarket Structure: A bull market is a sustained period of rising prices, typically defined as a rise of 20% or more from recent lows. In forex, it describes a currency or asset in a prolonged uptrend. Bull markets are driven by optimistic sentiment, strong economic data, or risk-on conditions. Traders profit in bull markets by buying (going long).

C

CandlestickTechnical Analysis: A candlestick is a type of price chart that displays the open, high, low, and close of a trading period in a single visual bar. The filled or colored body shows the range between open and close, while the wicks (shadows) show the high and low extremes. Candlestick patterns are widely used in technical analysis to identify potential reversals or continuations.
Carry TradeTrading Styles: A carry trade is a strategy where a trader borrows (sells) a currency with a low interest rate and uses the funds to buy a currency with a higher interest rate, profiting from the interest rate differential. The daily swap credit is the carry. Carry trades work best in stable, low-volatility environments and can be highly profitable over months, but they carry significant risk if the high-yield currency depreciates sharply.
CFD (Contract for Difference)Instruments: A CFD is a financial derivative that allows you to speculate on the price movement of an asset without owning the underlying asset itself. You profit or lose based on the difference between the opening and closing price of the contract. CFDs are available on forex, metals, indices, commodities, crypto, and more.
Chart PatternTechnical Analysis: A chart pattern is a recognizable shape formed by price movements on a chart that traders use to predict future direction. Patterns are classified as continuation (indicating the trend will resume) or reversal (indicating the trend will change direction). Common patterns include head and shoulders, double top/bottom, triangles, flags, and wedges.
CommissionBasics: A commission is a fixed fee charged by the broker per trade, usually calculated per lot per side (opening and closing). Commission-based accounts typically offer raw or near-zero spreads, with the commission being the broker's primary revenue. Not all account types charge commission — spread-only accounts incorporate the broker’s cost into a wider spread instead.
CommodityInstruments: A commodity is a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, such as oil, natural gas, gold, silver, wheat, or coffee. In CFD trading, commodities are traded as derivative contracts — you speculate on price movements without taking physical delivery. Commodities are influenced by supply and demand dynamics, geopolitical events, weather, and macroeconomic conditions.
Contract SizeInstruments: Contract size is the quantity of the underlying in one lot: 100,000 units of the base currency for standard forex lots, and a set number of ounces, barrels or index units for other CFDs. Profit per price move = move × contract size × lots. Contract sizes differ by instrument, so check the specification before you trade.
Contract SpecificationInstruments: A contract specification is the published set of parameters for an instrument: contract size, tick size and value, minimum and maximum order size, volume step, margin requirement, swap rates, trading hours and, for dated instruments, the expiry date. At GCC Brokers they are shown on each instrument page and in MetaTrader 5 (right-click the symbol and choose Specification), and they can change.
Copy TradingTrading Styles: Copy trading (also called social trading) allows you to automatically replicate the trades of experienced traders in real time. When the trader you follow opens, modifies, or closes a position, the same action is mirrored in your account proportionally. It provides access to professional strategies without requiring you to analyze markets yourself, though all trades still carry risk.
CorrelationMarket Structure: Correlation measures how closely the price movements of two instruments are related, on a scale from +1 (perfectly correlated — they move together) to -1 (perfectly inversely correlated — they move opposite). A correlation near 0 means no consistent relationship. Traders use correlation to diversify positions, avoid doubling risk on correlated pairs, and identify hedging opportunities.
Crypto CFDInstruments: A crypto CFD is a contract for difference on a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin. Unlike buying spot crypto on an exchange, a crypto CFD lets you speculate on price movements without owning the underlying coin. You can go long (buy) or short (sell), use leverage, and trade through a broker on familiar platforms like MetaTrader 5. Leverage on crypto CFDs is typically lower than on forex, and margin requirements can change at short notice.

D

Day TradingTrading Styles: Day trading is a style where all positions are opened and closed within the same trading day, with no overnight exposure. Day traders typically make multiple trades per session, aiming to profit from intraday price movements. This avoids swap fees and overnight gap risk.
Dealing DeskBroker & Execution: A dealing desk is a team at a broker that manages the broker’s own risk. At some brokers it can also intervene in client orders: requoting prices, widening spreads at its discretion or rejecting orders. Whether a dealing desk can touch your order depends on the broker’s execution policy.
DivergenceTechnical Analysis: Divergence occurs when the price of an instrument moves in one direction while a technical indicator (typically RSI or MACD) moves in the opposite direction. Bullish divergence happens when price makes a lower low but the indicator makes a higher low — signaling weakening downward momentum. Bearish divergence is the reverse: price makes a higher high but the indicator makes a lower high. Divergence is a leading signal of potential trend reversal.
DrawdownRisk Management: Drawdown measures the decline from a peak to a trough in the value of a trading account or portfolio, usually expressed as a percentage. Maximum drawdown is the largest peak-to-trough drop over a given period. It is a key metric for evaluating risk and strategy performance.

E

ECN (Electronic Communication Network)Broker & Execution: An ECN is a network that matches buy and sell orders from multiple participants — including banks, hedge funds, and retail traders — without a central dealing desk. ECN brokers offer direct market access with variable spreads that reflect real interbank liquidity. Traders typically pay a commission per trade in addition to the raw spread.
EquityBasics: Equity is the current value of your trading account, calculated as your account balance plus or minus the unrealized profit or loss on all open positions. It fluctuates in real time as the market moves. Equity is the number that matters for margin calculations — not your balance. If equity drops too low relative to used margin, a margin call or stop-out is triggered.
Exotic PairInstruments: An exotic pair combines a major currency (like USD, EUR, or GBP) with a currency from an emerging or smaller economy (like TRY, ZAR, THB, or MXN). Exotic pairs have wider spreads, lower liquidity, and higher volatility than majors or minors. They can offer larger price swings but carry greater slippage risk and higher swap costs.
Expert Advisor (EA)Automated Trading: An Expert Advisor is an automated trading program that runs on MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5. EAs follow pre-programmed rules to open, manage, and close trades without manual intervention. They are written in MQL4 or MQL5 (GCC Brokers offers MetaTrader 5, where EAs are written in MQL5) and can implement any strategy — from simple moving average crossovers to complex multi-timeframe systems.
Expiry (Expiry Date)Instruments: The expiry date is the date on which a dated instrument, such as a futures CFD, ends. At GCC Brokers a position still open at expiry is closed automatically at our quoted price. There is no rollover and no physical delivery, and if expiry falls on a non-business day, or a day the underlying market is closed, it moves to the preceding business day. Expiry dates are on the futures schedule.

F

Fibonacci RetracementTechnical Analysis: Fibonacci retracement is a technical analysis tool that uses horizontal lines to identify potential support and resistance levels based on the Fibonacci sequence. The key levels are 23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 61.8%, and 78.6%. Traders draw retracements from a swing high to a swing low (or vice versa) to predict where a price pullback may stall and reverse back in the direction of the trend.
Forex Pair (Currency Pair)Instruments: A forex pair is a quotation of two currencies where one is exchanged for the other. The first currency is the base currency and the second is the quote currency. The price represents how much of the quote currency is needed to buy one unit of the base currency. Pairs are classified as majors, minors, or exotics based on trading volume and liquidity.
Free MarginBasics: Free margin is the amount of equity in your trading account that is not currently being used as margin for open positions. It represents the funds available to open new trades or absorb floating losses. Free margin is calculated as equity minus used margin. When free margin reaches zero, you cannot open new positions and are at risk of stop-out.
Funding RateInstruments: The funding rate is the periodic payment exchanged between long and short holders of a perpetual contract, which keeps its price close to the spot market. When the perpetual trades above spot, longs usually pay shorts; when it trades below, shorts usually pay longs. Funding is charged at set times, and the rate changes with market conditions.
FuturesInstruments: A futures contract is a standardised agreement to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price on a specific future date. Exchange-traded futures have fixed expiry dates and are traded on regulated exchanges. At GCC Brokers, futures CFDs are off-exchange contracts that track a dated futures price and have a fixed expiry date. They carry no overnight swap, and a position still open at expiry is closed automatically at our quoted price, with no automatic rollover and no physical delivery (Client Agreement, clause 8.4).

G

GapMarket Structure: A gap is a price area on a chart where no trading occurred, creating a visible break between consecutive candlesticks. Gaps typically occur at the weekly open (Sunday evening New York time; 00:00 Monday server time for forex) or after major news events. When a market gaps, pending orders, including stop losses, execute at the first available price, which can be far from your level. They can be bullish (gap up) or bearish (gap down) and often act as support or resistance levels.

H

HedgingTrading Styles: Hedging is a risk management strategy where a trader opens a position to offset potential losses in another position. In forex, this often means holding simultaneous long and short positions on the same or correlated pairs. Hedging reduces directional exposure but does not eliminate risk entirely.
Hedging vs NettingOrder Types: MetaTrader 5 supports two ways of recording positions. In hedging mode you can hold several positions on the same instrument, including opposite ones, and each is closed separately. In netting mode there is one net position per instrument, so a sell against an open buy reduces, closes or reverses it. The mode is set per account and is shown in MetaTrader 5.

I

Index (Stock Index)Instruments: A stock index is a statistical measure that tracks the performance of a group of stocks representing a market or sector. Major indices include the US30 (Dow Jones), US100 (Nasdaq 100), US500 (S&P 500), and DE40 (Germany’s DAX). In CFD trading, you speculate on the index price without owning the underlying shares. Indices are influenced by corporate earnings, economic data, interest rates, and market sentiment.
Introducing Broker (IB)Broker & Execution: An Introducing Broker is an individual or company that refers new clients to a brokerage in exchange for commissions. IBs do not hold client funds or execute trades — they act as marketing and relationship partners. Commissions are typically paid per lot traded by referred clients, and many programs support multi-tier structures where IBs earn on sub-IBs they recruit.

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KYC (Know Your Customer)Broker & Execution: Know Your Customer (KYC) is a regulatory requirement for financial institutions to verify the identity and assess the suitability of each client before providing services. For trading accounts, KYC typically requires a valid government-issued ID (passport, national ID, or driver’s license) and proof of address (a recent utility bill or bank statement). KYC protects both the client and the broker from fraud and financial crime.

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LeverageBasics: Leverage allows you to control a larger position with a smaller amount of capital. It is expressed as a ratio — for example, 1:500 means $1 of margin controls $500 in the market. While leverage amplifies potential profits, it equally amplifies potential losses. The amount of leverage available depends on the broker, account type, and instrument. At GCC Brokers leverage is 1:100 by default, and up to 1:500 on Standard and Pro or up to 1:200 on Zero, on approval; it can be lower on some instruments, and margin on some instruments is tiered by position size (see the margin schedule).
Limit OrderOrder Types: A limit order is an instruction to buy or sell at a specified price. A buy limit is placed below the current market price, and a sell limit is placed above it. The order is only executed when the market reaches the specified price level. Limit orders give you price control but are not guaranteed to fill if the price never reaches your level.
LiquidityMarket Structure: Liquidity refers to how easily an asset can be bought or sold at its current price without significantly moving the market. High liquidity means tight spreads, fast execution, and minimal slippage. The forex market is the most liquid financial market in the world, with trillions of dollars traded every day. Liquidity varies by currency pair, time of day, and market conditions.
Liquidity ProviderBroker & Execution: A liquidity provider (LP) is a financial institution — typically a large bank, hedge fund, or prime broker — that supplies buy and sell prices for tradable instruments. In an STP model, the broker routes client orders to one or more LPs, who compete to offer the best available price. More LPs generally means tighter spreads and deeper market depth.
LotBasics: A lot is the standard unit of measurement for trade size in forex and CFD trading. A standard lot equals 100,000 units of the base currency. A mini lot is 10,000 units (0.1 lots), and a micro lot is 1,000 units (0.01 lots). The lot size determines the pip value and the overall exposure of a trade.
Lot SizeBasics: Lot size refers to the specific volume of a trade, determining how much of an instrument you are buying or selling. Choosing the right lot size is a core risk management decision — it directly affects pip value, required margin, and how much money is at stake per price movement. Most risk management systems recommend risking no more than 1–2% of your account balance per trade, then calculating lot size from that.

M

Major PairInstruments: A major pair is a forex pair that includes the US dollar (USD) and one of the other most heavily traded currencies: EUR, GBP, JPY, CHF, AUD, CAD, or NZD. Major pairs account for the majority of global forex trading volume and offer the tightest spreads, deepest liquidity, and most stable execution. They are often where new traders start.
MAM/PAMMBroker & Execution: MAM (Multi-Account Manager) and PAMM (Percentage Allocation Management Module) are systems that allow a money manager to trade multiple client accounts from a single master account. In a PAMM, profits and losses are distributed based on each investor’s percentage share. In a MAM, the manager has more flexibility to allocate different lot sizes per sub-account. Both are used by professional traders managing client funds.
MarginBasics: Margin is the amount of capital required in your account to open and maintain a leveraged position. It is not a fee — it is a security deposit held by the broker while the trade is open. The required margin depends on the position size, leverage ratio, and the instrument being traded. Free margin is the amount available to open new positions. At GCC Brokers margin on some instruments is tiered: larger positions carry a higher margin rate (see the margin schedule).
Margin CallBasics: A margin call is the point at which your margin level falls to a set threshold and your account is flagged as at risk. At GCC Brokers it is a margin level of 50%: the trading platform marks your account as on margin call, and you should add funds or reduce positions. We are not obliged to notify you, so it is your responsibility to watch your margin level. If it keeps falling to 20%, stop-out closes positions automatically, starting with the largest loss-making position.
Margin LevelBasics: Margin level is your equity as a percentage of the margin used by your open positions: equity ÷ used margin × 100. It is the number MetaTrader 5 uses to judge your account’s health. At GCC Brokers, unless we notify you otherwise, the margin call level is 50% and the stop-out level is 20%. Margin levels and requirements can be changed, including ahead of weekends and holidays.
Market OrderOrder Types: A market order is an instruction to buy or sell immediately at the best available price. It executes at the next available price, which may differ from the quote you saw (slippage). In fast or thin markets an order may also be filled in part, at several prices, or rejected. Market orders are the simplest and fastest way to enter or exit a trade.
Minor Pair (Cross Pair)Instruments: A minor pair (also called a cross pair) is a forex pair that does not include the US dollar but combines two other major currencies. Examples include EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY, and AUD/NZD. Minor pairs have slightly wider spreads and less liquidity than majors but are still actively traded and offer diversification from USD-centric trades.
Moving AverageTechnical Analysis: A moving average (MA) is a technical indicator that smooths price data by calculating the average price over a specified number of periods. The two most common types are the Simple Moving Average (SMA), which weights all periods equally, and the Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which gives more weight to recent prices. Moving averages help identify trends, dynamic support/resistance, and potential entry signals when different MAs cross.

N

Negative Balance ProtectionRisk Management: Negative balance protection is a broker policy that limits how far an account can be left below zero after losses exceed the funds in it. The scope differs between brokers: some reset any negative balance in full, others only up to a set amount. Always read the broker’s own policy to see what is covered.
Notional ValueBasics: Notional value is the full market value of a position: lots × contract size × price. Margin is a fraction of it, set by the leverage or margin rate; your exposure to price moves is all of it.

O

Order BookMarket Structure: An order book is a real-time list of all outstanding buy and sell orders for an instrument at various price levels. It shows market depth — how much volume is available at each price. In the interbank forex market, the order book is fragmented across multiple liquidity providers. ECN platforms may provide partial order book visibility (known as depth of market or DOM), letting traders see pending limit orders above and below the current price. For off-exchange CFDs, the Depth of Market window in MetaTrader 5 shows the prices and volumes in the broker’s own price feed, not a central exchange order book.
Overbought / OversoldTechnical Analysis: Overbought means an asset’s price has risen significantly in a short period and may be due for a pullback or reversal. Oversold means the price has fallen significantly and may be due for a bounce. These conditions are typically identified using oscillators like the RSI (above 70 = overbought, below 30 = oversold) or Stochastic. Overbought and oversold readings are signals, not guarantees — a strongly trending market can remain overbought or oversold for extended periods.

P

Pending OrderOrder Types: A pending order is an instruction to open a trade at a specific price in the future, rather than at the current market price. Pending orders are only executed when the market reaches the specified level. MetaTrader 5 offers six types: buy limit, sell limit, buy stop, sell stop, buy stop limit and sell stop limit. A pending order can be set to stay until cancelled, to expire at the end of the day, or to expire at a set time. They allow you to plan entries in advance without needing to watch the screen.
Perpetual FuturesInstruments: A perpetual future is a futures-style contract with no expiry date, kept close to the spot price by regular funding payments between long and short holders instead of an overnight swap. At GCC Brokers the gold and Bitcoin perpetuals (XAUUSDPERP and BTCUSDPERP) have no expiry and no overnight swap; funding times and rates are shown in each instrument’s specifications.
PipBasics: A pip (percentage in point) is the smallest standard unit of price movement in a currency pair. For most forex pairs, one pip equals a change in the fourth decimal place (0.0001). For JPY pairs, one pip equals a change in the second decimal place (0.01). Pips are used to measure price changes, calculate profit and loss, and define spreads. Outside forex the word is used loosely: on GCC Brokers’ instrument pages, one pip on an index is one index point. Check each instrument’s tick size in its specifications.
Pip ValueBasics: Pip value is the monetary worth of a single pip movement for a given trade size and currency pair. It depends on three factors: the lot size, the currency pair, and the account currency. For pairs quoted in US dollars (like EUR/USD), pip value on a standard lot is $10 when your account is in US dollars. For non-USD pairs, pip value fluctuates with exchange rates. Knowing your pip value is essential for calculating risk, position size, and potential profit or loss.
PipetteBasics: A pipette is one-tenth of a pip — the fifth decimal place for most currency pairs (0.00001) or the third decimal place for JPY pairs (0.001). Also called a fractional pip. In MetaTrader 5 the smallest price step is called a point; on 5-digit forex quotes, one point equals one pipette. Many brokers quote prices with pipette precision to offer tighter, more accurate spreads. A pipette allows finer granularity in pricing but represents a much smaller price movement than a full pip.
PointBasics: In MetaTrader 5, a point is the smallest price step shown for an instrument: for example 0.00001 on a 5-digit EUR/USD quote, or 0.01 on a gold price quoted to two decimals. On 5-digit forex quotes, 10 points equal 1 pip. Stop distances and trailing stops in MetaTrader 5 are set in points.
Position TradingTrading Styles: Position trading is a long-term strategy where trades are held for weeks, months, or even years. Position traders rely on fundamental analysis, macroeconomic trends, and long-term technical setups rather than short-term price movements. This style requires patience, wider stop losses, and acceptance of swap costs on overnight positions.
Precious MetalsInstruments: Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metals with high economic value, including gold (XAU), silver (XAG), platinum (XPT), and palladium (XPD). They are traded as CFDs against the US dollar and serve as safe-haven assets during economic uncertainty. Gold and silver are the most actively traded precious metals in the forex and CFD market, offering high liquidity and significant daily price movement.
Price ActionTechnical Analysis: Price action is a trading methodology that relies on reading raw price movements on a chart — candlestick patterns, support/resistance levels, trend structure, and market context — without relying on lagging indicators like moving averages or oscillators. Price action traders believe that all relevant information is already reflected in the price. It is a widely used approach among forex traders.
Price ImprovementBroker & Execution: Price improvement is a fill at a better price than the one you saw when you placed the order. It is the positive side of slippage. At GCC Brokers slippage is symmetric: we do not apply positive and negative slippage on different terms, and we do not withhold price improvement (Order Execution Policy, clause 3.4).

Q

Quote CurrencyInstruments: The quote currency is the second currency in a forex pair. It tells you how much of that currency is needed to buy one unit of the base currency (the first currency). Also called the counter currency or terms currency. In EUR/USD, the US dollar is the quote currency; in USD/JPY, the Japanese yen is the quote currency.

R

Regulated BrokerBroker & Execution: A regulated broker is a financial services company that is licensed and supervised by one or more official regulatory authorities. Regulation typically requires brokers to meet capital requirements, keep client money apart from their own, submit to audits and follow conduct rules. It gives clients rules the broker must follow and a supervisor and complaints route outside the company; the protections differ by regulator and by entity. Examples of regulators are the FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), CySEC (Cyprus) and the FSC (Mauritius).
RequoteMarket Structure: A requote occurs when a broker cannot execute your order at the price you requested and offers a new price instead, which you must accept or reject. It typically happens during high volatility, or where orders are handled manually.
Risk ManagementRisk Management: Risk management is the practice of identifying, assessing, and controlling potential losses in trading. It encompasses position sizing, stop losses, risk-reward ratios, portfolio diversification, and emotional discipline. Effective risk management is a key factor separating profitable traders from unprofitable ones. The goal is not to avoid losses entirely but to keep them small and controlled relative to gains.
Risk-Reward RatioRisk Management: The risk-reward ratio compares the potential loss of a trade to its potential profit. It is calculated by dividing the distance to the stop loss by the distance to the take profit. A 1:2 ratio means you risk $1 to potentially make $2. A favorable risk-reward ratio allows a strategy to be profitable even with a win rate below 50%.
RolloverInstruments: Rollover is the process of extending the settlement date of an open position to the next trading day. In forex, spot trades have a T+2 settlement date, so positions held overnight are automatically rolled over. A swap fee (interest rate differential) is charged or credited during rollover, at 00:00 server time (17:00 New York time). Wednesday’s rollover is charged at three times the daily rate to cover the weekend, and extra days can be charged around bank holidays.
RSI (Relative Strength Index)Technical Analysis: The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes on a scale from 0 to 100. An RSI above 70 is considered overbought (potential sell signal), and below 30 is considered oversold (potential buy signal). RSI is one of the most widely used technical indicators, often combined with trend analysis and support/resistance levels for confirmation.

S

ScalpingTrading Styles: Scalping is a high-frequency trading style that aims to profit from very small price movements, typically 1–10 pips per trade. Scalpers open and close many positions within minutes or even seconds. Success requires tight spreads, fast execution, and a broker that does not restrict rapid trading. Scalping is best suited for highly liquid markets and peak trading hours.
Segregated AccountsBroker & Execution: Segregated accounts are bank accounts where client funds are held separately from the broker’s operational funds. It is a common regulatory requirement for licensed brokers and is designed to keep client money apart from the firm’s own money, so it is not used for the firm’s own business. Segregation reduces, but does not remove, the risk of loss if a broker fails; how client money is treated in an insolvency depends on the law and the institution holding it.
Server TimeMarket Structure: Server time is the clock the trading platform runs on. GCC Brokers’ MetaTrader 5 server time is New York time plus 7 hours, which is GMT+3 in summer and GMT+2 in winter; it changes on the US daylight-saving dates, not the European ones. Charts, daily candles, trading hours and the daily swap at 00:00 are all in server time.
SlippageMarket Structure: Slippage is the difference between the expected fill price of an order and the actual fill price. It occurs when the market moves between the time you submit an order and the time it is executed. Slippage can be positive (better price) or negative (worse price) and is most common during high volatility, news events, or in low-liquidity markets.
SpreadBasics: The spread is the difference between the ask price, the price you buy at, and the bid price, the price you sell at. The ask is always the higher of the two. The spread is a cost on every trade: a position bought at the ask and closed straight away at the bid loses the spread, so the narrower it is, the less you pay. Spreads can be fixed or variable; variable spreads move with market conditions and are typical of STP/ECN execution. Spreads at GCC Brokers are variable; typical spreads per account are published as last month's averages.
Spread MarkupBroker & Execution: A spread markup is the additional spread a broker adds on top of the raw interbank spread received from liquidity providers. It is the primary revenue source for commission-free account types. For example, if the raw spread from liquidity providers is 0.3 pips and the broker adds a 1.0-pip markup, the client sees a spread of 1.3 pips (illustrative figures). Brokers differ in whether they state that their spreads include a markup.
Stop Limit OrderOrder Types: A stop limit order is a pending order that places a limit order once a stop price is reached. A buy stop limit sets a stop price above the market and a limit price at or below it; a sell stop limit sets a stop below the market and a limit at or above it. It controls the entry price, but the order may not fill if the market jumps past the limit. MetaTrader 5 offers both types.
Stop LossOrder Types: A stop loss is a pending order that automatically closes a position when the price reaches a specified level, limiting the maximum loss on a trade. It is a key risk management tool in trading. Once triggered, a stop loss becomes a market order and is filled at the best available price, which may differ from the stop level in fast-moving markets.
Stop Order (Buy Stop / Sell Stop)Order Types: A stop order is a pending order that triggers when the price reaches a specified level in the direction of the anticipated move. A buy stop is placed above the current price, triggering when the price rises to that level — used to enter on a breakout. A sell stop is placed below the current price, triggering when the price falls to that level. Once triggered, a stop order becomes a market order and is filled at the next available price. A stop limit order is a variant that places a limit order instead.
Stop-OutBasics: Stop-out is the automatic closure of open positions when your account’s margin level falls below a minimum threshold set by the broker. It is designed to limit further losses, but in fast or gapping markets positions can close at prices that leave the balance below zero. At GCC Brokers, the stop-out level is 20% across all account types.
STP (Straight-Through Processing)Broker & Execution: STP (straight-through processing) is an execution model in which client orders are processed electronically, without manual intervention, and the resulting risk is passed to liquidity providers. It is often contrasted with brokers that keep client risk on their own book.
Support and ResistanceTechnical Analysis: Support is a price level where buying pressure tends to prevent further decline, and resistance is a level where selling pressure tends to prevent further advance. These levels are identified from historical price action and are core concepts in technical analysis. When support is broken, it often becomes resistance, and vice versa.
SwapInstruments: A swap (also called an overnight fee or rollover fee) is the interest charged or credited for holding a position overnight. It reflects the interest rate differential between the two currencies in a forex pair. Swaps can be positive (you earn) or negative (you pay), depending on the direction of your trade and the prevailing interest rates. At GCC Brokers swap rates come from our liquidity providers, change daily, and can be negative on both sides (Client Agreement, clause 12.2). Any different swap arrangement is agreed with an individual client and is not an entitlement (clause 12.3).
Swing TradingTrading Styles: Swing trading is a style where positions are held for several days to a few weeks, aiming to capture medium-term price swings. Swing traders combine technical and fundamental analysis to identify entry and exit points. This style requires fewer trades than day trading but involves overnight and weekend exposure.

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Take ProfitOrder Types: A take profit is a pending order that automatically closes a position when the price reaches a specified profit target. It locks in gains without requiring you to monitor the trade. Once triggered, a take profit becomes a market order and is filled at the best available price. Using take profit together with stop loss defines the risk-reward profile of a trade.
Tick SizeInstruments: Tick size is the smallest price step an instrument can move. It is set in the contract specification and is used, together with tick value, to measure profit and loss on instruments that are not currency pairs, where pips do not apply.
Tick ValueInstruments: Tick value is what one tick (the smallest price step) is worth for one lot, in your account currency. Profit or loss = number of ticks moved × tick value × lots. It depends on the contract size and, where the instrument is priced in another currency, on the exchange rate.
Trailing StopOrder Types: A trailing stop is a dynamic stop loss that automatically moves in the direction of profit as the price moves favorably, but stays fixed when the price moves against you. It allows you to lock in progressively more profit while still protecting against reversals. The trailing distance is set in pips or points. In MetaTrader 5 a trailing stop runs in your trading terminal, not on the server: it only moves while the terminal is open and connected. Traders who need it to run all the time use a VPS.
TrendTechnical Analysis: A trend is the general direction of price movement over a given period. An uptrend (bullish trend) is a series of higher highs and higher lows. A downtrend (bearish trend) is a series of lower highs and lower lows. A sideways trend (range) occurs when the price moves horizontally without a clear direction. Identifying the trend is the foundation of most trading strategies — the common wisdom is to trade in the direction of the trend.
Triple SwapInstruments: A triple swap is the swap charged or credited at three times the daily rate on one night of the week, to cover the weekend when positions stay open but no rollover takes place. At GCC Brokers it is applied at Wednesday’s rollover for most instruments, and extra days may also be charged around bank holidays, as shown in the contract specifications.

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Used MarginBasics: Used margin is the total margin currently held for all your open positions. It rises when you open positions and falls when you close them. Free margin is equity minus used margin, and margin level is equity divided by used margin.

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VolatilityMarket Structure: Volatility measures how much and how quickly an asset’s price fluctuates over a given period. High volatility means large, rapid price swings — more opportunity but also more risk. Low volatility means smaller, steadier movements. Volatility is influenced by economic data releases, geopolitical events, market session overlaps, and overall market sentiment.
VPS (Virtual Private Server)Automated Trading: A VPS is a remote server that runs your trading platform 24 hours a day without relying on your personal computer. Traders use a VPS to keep Expert Advisors running continuously, reduce execution latency by hosting the platform closer to the broker’s servers, and avoid interruptions from power outages or internet disconnections.

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Wick (Shadow)Technical Analysis: A wick (also called a shadow) is the thin line extending above or below the body of a candlestick, showing the highest and lowest prices reached during that period. A long upper wick indicates that buyers pushed the price up but sellers rejected it. A long lower wick indicates that sellers pushed the price down but buyers rejected it. Wick length and position are key signals in price action trading.

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YieldMarket Structure: Yield is the return earned on an investment, typically expressed as an annual percentage. In forex, yield most commonly refers to the interest rate on a country’s government bonds or the central bank’s policy rate. Yield differentials between two countries are a primary driver of currency pair movements and determine swap rates. Higher-yielding currencies tend to attract capital inflows and appreciate, all else being equal.

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