On the MT4 platform, one of the windows that we can open is the Terminal window. In this window, we have numerous tabs located at the bottom part of the window. One of the tabs is the Trade tab. When this tab is chosen, we will see information about the account. We can see current trades that we are in. We can see any pending trades that we placed.
We also can see the status of our account with regards to the value of the account as well as margin information. This information is located in the balance line which is highlighted in gray. Above the balance line will list any current trades. Below the balance line will list any pending trades.
The information on the balance line starts on the left with Balance, Equity, Margin, Free Margin, Margin Level, and Profit. The Balance is the value of your account before the current trades were entered. The Equity is the current value of your account. The Equity will fluctuate as your profits/losses grow or shrink. Margin is the amount of money you needed in your account in order to place the trades you made. The margin will only change when you enter into a new trade or exit out of a current trade. Free margin is the amount of money you have left in your account that you can trade with. This amount when added to the Margin will equal the Equity. Free margin will fluctuate as your profits/losses grow or shrink. The Margin level is the Equity divided by the Margin expressed as a percentage amount. If this level drops to 125%, a warning indication occurs by the balance line turning red. The warning indicates that you are getting close to running out of margin. Without margin, you will be unable to place new trades. If the account reaches a 95% margin level, then trades will automatically be closed. Profit is the total net profit or loss of your current trades.
The Balance line does not include any pending trades. This means you need to be aware of the margin required to execute any pending trades and how it will affect your Margin level.
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