Why shorts get stopped out by a spread spike
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2026 5:53 am
Here's a detail that catches people. A buy position closes at the bid. A sell position closes at the ask. So stops on shorts trigger on the ask price.
When the spread widens, the ask jumps up even if the bid doesn't move. Picture a short with a stop 3 pips above entry during a thin moment. The spread goes from 0.5 to 4 pips. The ask touches the stop. The trade closes at a loss while the chart, which usually plots bid, shows nothing dramatic.
The trader stares at a candle that never reached the stop and wonders if the broker cheated. Usually it's just mechanics, though that doesn't make it feel better.
The workaround is to either enable the ask line on the chart, so the stop level can be seen against the real trigger price, or to avoid holding tight shorts in thin windows.
Has a stopped-out short ever looked impossible on the chart, and did the ask line explain it?
When the spread widens, the ask jumps up even if the bid doesn't move. Picture a short with a stop 3 pips above entry during a thin moment. The spread goes from 0.5 to 4 pips. The ask touches the stop. The trade closes at a loss while the chart, which usually plots bid, shows nothing dramatic.
The trader stares at a candle that never reached the stop and wonders if the broker cheated. Usually it's just mechanics, though that doesn't make it feel better.
The workaround is to either enable the ask line on the chart, so the stop level can be seen against the real trigger price, or to avoid holding tight shorts in thin windows.
Has a stopped-out short ever looked impossible on the chart, and did the ask line explain it?