Trade By Retail Sentiment - expert for MetaTrader 4

Ziwox Retail Sentiment Expert Advisor

Why Retail Sentiment Matters:

Retail trader sentiment reflects the positions and biases of small traders in the market. It’s widely known that retail traders often take the wrong side of market moves due to emotional trading, poor risk management, or overreacting to news. By analyzing the long and short ratios of retail traders, we can adopt a contrarian strategy, which often aligns with institutional flow and broader market trends.

Sentiment analysis can help traders:

• Identify overextended market conditions.

• Detect potential reversals early.

• Enhance technical analysis with behavioral insights.

• Reduce risk by avoiding crowded trades.

How the EA Works:

This EA retrieves retail sentiment data via the Ziwox API and combines it with a moving average crossover filter:

1. API Integration:
   Using the GetAPI function, the EA sends a web request to Ziwox’s endpoint to fetch sentiment data in JSON format. The data includes key fields such as Retail Long Ratio , Retail Short Ratio , and Risk Sentiment . The JSON is then parsed into an array ( APIJSON ) using JsonDataParse .

2. Contrarian Logic:

   • If Retail Long Ratio >= 60% and the fast MA is above the slow MA, the EA considers a sell trade.

   • If Retail Short Ratio >= 60% and the fast MA is below the slow MA, the EA considers a buy trade.
     This ensures trades are taken contrarian to retail sentiment but still in line with technical trend confirmation.

3. Technical Filter:
   Simple moving averages ( iMA ) with user-defined periods ( shortMAPeriod and longMAPeriod ) filter trades. Only trades that align with the moving average trend are executed.

4. Automated Trading:
   When AutoTrade is enabled, the EA automatically opens orders, checks for new candles via IsNewCandle() , and ensures no duplicate trades with OrdersTotal() .

5. Visualization:
   The EA draws sentiment indicators on the chart using DrawSentiment and ButtonCreate , showing retail long and short ratios in a clear, color-coded manner. Green indicates long positions, and red indicates short positions.

Key Code Components Explained:

• GetAPI : Handles API calls to Ziwox, manages rate limits, retries, and saves data to a JSON file.

• JsonDataParse : Reads the JSON file, parses sentiment values, and stores them in the APIJSON array for use in trading logic.

• OnTick : Checks conditions each tick, applies contrarian logic with MA trend filter, and sends orders if criteria are met.

• DrawSentiment & ButtonCreate : Visualizes sentiment directly on the MT4 chart for instant insight.

• IsNewCandle : Ensures trades are only checked once per new candle to avoid multiple executions on the same candle.

Usage Instructions:

1. Place the EA in the Experts folder of MT4.

2. Input your Ziwox API key in the APIKey field.

3. Adjust shortMAPeriod and longMAPeriod as needed.

4. Set AutoTrade to true if you want fully automated trading.

5. Load the EA on any symbol chart. It will fetch sentiment, visualize it, and trade according to the contrarian strategy.

Conclusion:

This EA combines behavioral finance insights from retail sentiment with technical analysis to provide a simple yet effective contrarian trading strategy. By monitoring the collective bias of retail traders, the system helps identify potential market reversals and avoids crowded trades, giving an edge to disciplined traders.