Why a sell stop loss can trigger when the chart never touched it
New traders often ask why a sell trade closed at their stop loss when the candle on the chart never reached that level. It is usually not manipulation. It is the difference between Bid and Ask.
Charts are drawn from the Bid price
A buy position closes at the Bid, so what you see on the chart is what triggers your stop. A sell position closes at the Ask, which is not drawn on the candles. If the spread widens, the Ask can reach your stop while the Bid candle stays below it.
Example
You sell EURUSD with a stop at 1.10200. The candle high is 1.10180. With a normal 0.8 pip spread the Ask is 1.10188, so you are safe. During rollover the spread widens to 3 pips, the Ask becomes 1.10210 and the stop triggers.
When spreads widen most
The first 15 to 60 minutes after daily rollover.
High impact news like NFP, CPI and rate decisions.
Monday open and thin holiday sessions.
What to do about it
Turn on the Ask line in your platform chart settings so you can see both prices.
On sell trades, place the stop at your level plus a normal spread plus a small buffer.
Avoid very tight stops through rollover.
Check the close price in your trade history to confirm what triggered it.
Has this ever happened to you? How do you place your stops on sell trades now?
