Is it possible to set and later remove a trailing stop?
Author: zanek
Creation Date: 6/24/2009 9:06 AM
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zanek

#1
I'm not sure if this is possible, but can one set a trailing stop, but later remove the trailing stop programmatically ?

Most brokerages allow you to cancel any stop losses, OCOs, trailing stops as long as they havent been executed yet.
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Cone

#2
Of course. Just program it as you would for backtesting and it will work that way for live trading as well.

In a nutshell, canceling an order in Wealth-Lab is simply not placing the order on the next interval.
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zanek

#3
I know how to do that, but thats not always whats needed.

For instance, if I have an iffy buy signal, and buy at the market on the next bar, then the next bar that I bought at drops 2%, I cant sell until the bar after that, which means it could drop another 2% by the time the sell order is executed on the next bar.

If I could buy, and immediately set a stop-loss or trailing stop at say 2% below my buy price (I would be assured that I wouldnt have to wait 2 bars to sell after the buying), then if the price continues to go up, I could remove the trailing stop if needed.
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Cone

#4
QUOTE:
then the next bar that I bought at drops 2%, I cant sell until the bar after that,
You can enable same-bar exits for live trading if you want. See User Guide: Preferences > Trading > Allow Same Bar Exits for Auto-Trading

If you're not Auto-Trading, you'd simply program the strategy to exit at market on the next bar if the close was below your stop. If that's not good enough, you can enter the stop order yourself since you're not auto-trading anyway.
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