Breakout News

Breakout News EA is an automated scalping Expert Advisor for MetaTrader 5 specifically designed to capitalise on price volatility during scheduled high-impact news events. Unlike traditional breakout systems, this EA places both a Buy Stop and a Sell Stop order around the pre-news range, allowing it to catch directional moves immediately after the release. The EA is built for single‑pair trading with a strong focus on dynamic risk management, trailing stops, broker integrity monitoring, and daily protection mechanisms.

The system uses a manual news schedule – you specify exact event times (e.g.,  13:30,14:00,15:30 ) and a time window around each event. During that window, the EA scans the last N bars (default 10) to determine the highest high and lowest low, then places stop‑orders at a configurable distance above/below that range. Once one order fills, the opposite pending order is automatically cancelled, ensuring only one direction is taken per news event.

This EA is ideal for traders who want a disciplined, rules‑based approach to trading news releases without emotional interference. It combines simplicity (only two pending orders per event) with sophisticated protection features, making it suitable for both novice and experienced traders.

Core Features

News Breakout Logic

1. News Window Detection – The EA checks the current time against your  ManualNewsTimes  list (comma‑separated). If the current minute is within  NewsAvoidMinutes  of any listed time, news mode is activated.

2. Range Calculation – During an active news window, the EA fetches the highest high and lowest low from the last  NewsBreakoutBars  bars on the selected  TradeTimeframe .

3. Pending Order Placement – It places:

   • Buy Stop at  High + NewsBreakoutDistancePips  with SL =  BuyStop - (ATR × SL_Multiplier)  and TP =  BuyStop + (ATR × TP_Multiplier)

   • Sell Stop at  Low - NewsBreakoutDistancePips  with SL =  SellStop + (ATR × SL_Multiplier)  and TP =  SellStop - (ATR × TP_Multiplier)

4. Order Management – If either pending order is filled, the opposite pending order is immediately cancelled to avoid double exposure.

5. Post‑News Cleanup – When the news window ends, all remaining pending orders are deleted to avoid hanging orders.

Manual News Schedule

The EA uses a manual schedule rather than an economic calendar, giving you full control over which events to trade. You provide a comma‑separated list of times in HH:MM format (24‑hour). A time window ( NewsAvoidMinutes ) defines how many minutes before and after each event are considered “news‑active”. This allows you to tailor trading to specific releases (e.g., NFP, FOMC, CPI).

Example:

• ManualNewsTimes = "13:30,14:00,15:30"

• NewsAvoidMinutes = 15  → active windows: 13:15‑13:45, 13:45‑14:15, 15:15‑15:45

Trailing Stop System

The EA supports two trailing modes, and trailing is now fully active in backtest (the previous tester‑skip logic has been removed).

1. TRAILING_STATIC

   • Activation: profit reaches  TrailingStart  pips

   • Step:  TrailingStep  pips (SL moves by this amount)

2. TRAILING_ATR_DYNAMIC

   • Activation:  ATR × TrailATRMultiplierStart

   • Step:  ATR × TrailATRMultiplierStep

   • Adapts to market volatility – wider trails in high volatility, tighter in low.

The trailing stop only moves in the direction of trade (tightens SL, never loosens) and is applied to all positions with the EA’s magic number.

Risk Management Features

Broker Spy

The Broker Spy module monitors slippage and spread to detect broker irregularities:

• Tracks average slippage over the last  BrokerSpyPeriod  trades.

• If average slippage exceeds  MaxAllowedSlippage , trading is halted.

• Also checks a recent 5‑trade spike in slippage; if it exceeds 1.5× the max allowed, trading stops.

• Spread at open is recorded for each trade to monitor broker spread consistency.

This feature provides an extra layer of protection against unfavourable broker execution.

Currency Converter Integration

The EA includes a built‑in currency converter to handle accounts denominated in currencies other than USD:

• Automatic Detection – Reads  ACCOUNT_CURRENCY .

• Exchange Rate Discovery – Searches Market Watch for symbols like  EURUSD ,  EURUSDfx ,  EURUSD.pro , etc., both direct and inverted pairs.

• Caching – Rates are cached and refreshed every 3600 seconds.

• Manual Override – You can set a fixed exchange rate via  ManualExchangeRate .

This ensures that compounding and position sizing calculations based on USD‑denominated bases work correctly regardless of your account currency.

Requirements

Setup Instructions

1. Attach the EA to a single chart (e.g., EURUSD M5). Only one instrument per EA instance.

2. Configure News Settings

   • Enable  UseNewsBreakout .

   • Set  ManualNewsTimes  with your desired event times (comma‑separated, HH:MM).

   • Adjust  NewsBreakoutBars  (default 10) for range calculation.

   • Set  NewsBreakoutDistancePips  (default 2) and SL/TP multipliers.

3. Set Risk & Money Management

   • Choose  UseFixedLot  or auto‑compounding ( AutoCompoundMode ).

   • For dynamic SL/TP, enable  UseDynamicSLTP  and adjust ATR multipliers.

   • Set  RiskPercent  or use compounding based on  CompoundingBalanceBase .

4. Configure Trailing Stop

   • Select  TrailingMode  (Static or ATR‑Dynamic).

   • Set activation and step values (pips or ATR multipliers).

   • Ensure  UseTrailing  is  true .

5. Define Daily & Drawdown Protection

   • Set  UseDailyTarget ,  DailyTargetPercent ,  MaxDailyLossPercent .

   • Set  MaxConsecutiveLosses  and  MaxDrawdownPercent .

6. Optional Filters

   • Enable  UseTimeFilter  to restrict trading hours.

   • Enable  UseBrokerSpy  to monitor broker execution.

   • Configure notifications (mobile/email).

7. Test on Demo – Always run extensive backtesting and forward testing on a demo account before live deployment.

Important Notes

• Single‑Pair Operation – One EA instance = one trading instrument. Use separate charts for multiple pairs.

• No Hedging – Only one direction (BUY or SELL) is taken per news event; the opposite order is cancelled upon fill.

• Pending Order Exclusivity – At most one Buy Stop and one Sell Stop are maintained simultaneously.

• Trailing Active in Backtest – The EA now applies trailing stop logic even in the Strategy Tester.

• News Times are Manual – The EA does not use an external economic calendar; you must enter event times manually.

• ATR Caching – ATR values are cached for performance; indicators are refreshed on new bars.

• Spread Checking – Dynamic spread limits reduce trading in volatile conditions.

• Currency Conversion – Handles accounts in EUR, GBP, JPY, etc., automatically.

• Manual Exchange Rate – If automatic detection fails, you can set a fixed rate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the minimum deposit?
A: $100 for cent accounts, $500 for standard accounts. Risk settings can be adjusted accordingly.

Q: Which timeframe should I use?
A: M5 or M15 for short‑term breakout scalping. Higher timeframes may produce wider ranges.

Q: How are SL and TP calculated?
A: They are based on the current ATR value multiplied by  NewsBreakoutSLMultiplier  and  NewsBreakoutTPMultiplier  (defaults 1.5× and 2.0×). You can also use  UseDynamicSLTP  for separate risk/reward ratios.

Q: Can I use this EA with multiple news events in a day?
A: Yes – simply list all desired times in  ManualNewsTimes  (e.g.,  "13:30,15:00,18:00" ). The EA will activate for each event window.

Q: Does this EA work with crypto or indices?
A: Yes, as long as the symbol is available and point/pip sizes are correctly detected (the EA adjusts for instruments with different digit counts).

Q: What happens if both pending orders are filled?
A: This is prevented – as soon as one fills, the other is cancelled via the  OnTradeTransaction  handler.

Q: How does trailing stop work in backtest?
A: Trailing is now fully active in the Strategy Tester (the earlier  if(g_isTester) return;  line was removed).

Q: Why is my pending order not placed during news time?
A: Check if the spread is too high, margin is insufficient, or the entry level is too far from current price (the EA filters levels >100 pips away to avoid unrealistic orders).

Q: How does the currency converter help?
A: It ensures that lot size calculations and compounding work correctly regardless of your account currency (e.g., EUR, GBP, JPY) by converting USD‑based base amounts to the account currency.

Disclaimer

Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and indices carries a high level of risk. You may lose all of your invested capital.

Breakout News EA is a trading tool and does not guarantee profits. Users are advised to:

• Perform backtesting and forward testing on demo accounts

• Apply appropriate risk management strategies

• Understand the system’s functionality before live trading

• Avoid using emergency funds or borrowed capital

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Settings should be adjusted to current market conditions and broker execution quality. By using this product, you acknowledge and accept these risks.