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MetaTrader 5 (MT5) with the Market Shut (Canada)

MetaTrader 5 stays on the screen after the market behind it has stopped. At PU Prime the terminal keeps running out of hours: the chart holds its last bar, the account figures stand still, and only some of what you click still goes anywhere.

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When the market for an instrument is shut, MetaTrader 5 does not close and does not clear the screen. The last bar stays, the last quotes stay, balance and equity stand still, and anything sent to the server comes back refused rather than filled. A lost connection looks different: the terminal stops claiming it is connected, and nothing on the screen is current for any instrument.

MetaTrader 5 with the market shut

Where a shut market shows up first

On the screenWhat it does when prices stop
ChartHolds the last bar it printed, unchanged and unmarked
Market WatchKeeps the last quotes it received, with the time they arrived
Balance and equityStand still, because nothing is left to revalue
Order windowOpens as usual; what you send comes back refused
History, templates, indicatorsWork exactly as they do in the middle of a session

Nothing on the screen labels itself as stale. The time on the last quote is the field that answers the question.

Before you decide it is broken

A quiet screen is easiest to read on an account you can compare it against: open an account and watch how the same terminal behaves in and out of hours, or do it first on a free demo.

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The screen is a photograph, not a window

A terminal with no incoming prices does not admit it. It goes on displaying the last thing it had, in the same colours, in the same places, with the same confidence. Nothing in the layout says stale, which is why a quiet screen is read as a broken one so often.

The one honest field is the timestamp on the last quote. Read that before you read the price, and the question answers itself: a price from a few seconds ago is a live market that happens to be quiet, and a price from many hours ago is not a price you should be acting on at all.

This is a reading habit rather than a setting. Once the time of the last tick is the first thing you look at, the difference between a still market and a stuck terminal stops being a guess.

What still goes through and what does not

Everything that lives inside the terminal keeps working with no prices at all. History, templates, indicators applied to a saved chart, objects, the layout of your windows — none of that needs the market to be open, because none of it leaves your machine.

What stops is the round trip. Whether the server takes a pending order or a change to a stop outside hours depends on how it is set up; if it does not, the answer comes back naming a shut market rather than blaming your line or your account. That is a refusal with a reason attached, and it is a useful thing to read rather than dismiss.

The rule of thumb that follows: if the terminal answered you at all, the connection is fine. Silence and a refusal are very different outcomes.

One check before you restart anything

The reflex when a chart freezes is to restart the terminal, and it is the wrong first move. Restarting throws away the state you were looking at and the layout you had, and it cannot open a market that is shut.

Look at one thing instead: is anything else on the screen moving. Instruments do not all keep the same hours, so a screen where one symbol still ticks while another sits still is a screen with a working connection and a closed market. A screen where nothing moves anywhere, with the corner of the terminal no longer claiming a connection, is a different problem entirely.

Telling a shut market from a dead line

  1. Look at the connection state in the corner of the terminal before you look at any price.
  2. Read the timestamp on the last quote, not the quote itself.
  3. Check whether any other instrument on the same screen is still moving — if one is, your connection is fine.
  4. If an order already came back refused, read what it actually said: a shut market says so plainly.
  5. If everything is still and the corner still reports a connection, the market is what stopped, not you.

Restarting cannot open a market, and it does cost you the layout you were working on. Check first, restart second.

Closed market or lost connection — reading the difference

What you look atMarket shutConnection gone
Connection state in the cornerStill reporting a connectionStops reporting one
Quotes in Market WatchFrozen, last values still shownFrozen, and nothing confirms they are current
Other instruments on the same screenSome can still be moving — hours differ by instrumentNothing moves anywhere
An order you sentComes back refused, naming a shut marketNo answer at all, or it never leaves the terminal
Balance and equityStanding still and still correctStanding still and possibly already out of date
What ends itWaitingSomething on your side: the line, the login, the terminal

Server wording differs between platforms and builds. Read the connection state first, then whatever answer your order came back with.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my MT5 chart not moving?
Most often because no new ticks are arriving for that instrument. The terminal keeps drawing the last bar it printed, so a still chart looks identical whether the market is shut or the prices simply stopped reaching you.
Does MT5 stay connected when the market is closed?
The terminal keeps its link to the trade server; what stops is the flow of prices. That is why the corner can still report a connection while nothing on the chart moves.
Can I place an order while the market is shut?
Whether a pending order or a change to a stop is accepted outside hours depends on how the server is set up. If it is not accepted, the answer names a shut market — which is a refusal, not a fault on your side.
Why do balance and equity stop changing?
Equity only moves when a new price arrives for something you hold. With no incoming prices there is nothing to revalue, so the figures stand exactly where the last tick left them.
How do I tell a closed market from a lost connection?
Check whether any other instrument on the screen is still moving and whether the terminal still reports a connection. Some instruments moving means your line is fine; nothing moving with no connection reported is your side, not the market.
Is a frozen chart a sign that the platform has crashed?
Usually not. A crashed terminal stops responding to you as well; a shut market leaves everything clickable, with history, indicators and layouts all working as normal.
What still works in MT5 when no prices are coming in?
Everything that does not need the server: reading history, changing timeframes, applying indicators, drawing and saving objects, and setting up templates and layouts for when trading resumes.

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