Read the trade chart

The candles behind a trade: the five timeframes, the one VEXA picks for you, what the markers mean, and how much history each timeframe loads.

Same on every platform Updated 26 July 2026

What this does

The trade chart draws the price around your trade with your fills marked on the candles. It answers the question a P&L number cannot: what was the market doing when you got in, and where were you relative to the move.

Before you start

The chart is market data, not broker data. VEXA fetches candles from a market data provider and draws your fills on top. If the provider has no data for that instrument, the chart is blank even though the trade is perfectly good. See Why a chart is blank.

Options trades get two charts. The underlying comes first, then the option contract itself. Index options are the exception, because the index has no chartable price.

The five timeframes

1m · 5m · 15m · 60m · 1D

VEXA picks one for you based on how long the trade lasted, so a scalp opens on 1-minute candles and a position held for a month opens on daily ones.

How long the trade ran	Timeframe you get
Under 30 minutes	1m
30 minutes to 4 hours	5m
4 hours to 2 days	15m
2 days to 2 weeks	60m
Over 2 weeks	1D

You can change it at any time. Switching between timeframes you have already viewed is instant, because the candles for each one are kept for as long as you stay on the trade.

How much history each chart loads

VEXA does not load a fixed window. It works out what you need to see the trade in context:

A trade that ran under 8 hours loads from three days before it opened to the end of the day it closed, so you can see the levels that were in play beforehand.
A longer trade loads a tighter window around the trade itself, half an hour either side.
The daily chart never asks for candles from the future, so the right edge stops at now.

The 60-minute option really is 60-minute aggregation rather than exchange hourly bars, which is why a 60m candle can start at 09:30 rather than on the hour.

Steps

Open the trade from Trades or from a Journal day card.
The chart is at the top of the right panel and starts loading with the page.
Use the timeframe buttons on the chart to switch between 1m, 5m, 15m, 60m and 1D.
Hover a marker to read the fill behind it.

Open the trade from Metrics or from a Journal day.
The chart sits with the trade, with a segmented control for 1m, 5m, 15m, 60m and 1D.
Tap a timeframe to switch.
Options trades have a second card underneath headed Options Contract Chart.

Open the trade from Trades in the sidebar.
The timeframe selector sits outside the chart rather than on it. Tap a timeframe there to switch.
Options trades get the contract chart under the underlying.

Open the trade from Metrics or from a Journal day.
The chart section carries a segmented control: 1m, 5m, 15m, 60m, 1D.
Tap a timeframe to switch. Switching never refetches candles you have already loaded.
Options trades render the underlying first, then the contract.

Open the trade from Trades in the sidebar.
Use the timeframe control on the chart section to switch.
Options trades render both charts, underlying first.

What the markers mean

Your entry and your exit are marked on the candles, and so is every other execution VEXA has for the trade. Hovering or tapping a marker shows the fill behind it: the type, the time, the price and the size.

If a marker is missing for a fill you know about, check the execution timeline. A fill VEXA does not have cannot be drawn. See Read the execution timeline.

Splits

Charts request split-adjusted prices. A trade you took before a stock split is drawn against adjusted candles, so your entry marker lines up with the candles around it rather than floating four times too high.

What you should see

Candles for the window described above, your entry and exit marked, and the timeframe VEXA chose already selected. The chart shows “Loading chart” for a moment first while the candles arrive.

If it doesn’t work

“Rate limited, try again in a moment”. Too many chart requests went out at once, usually from paging quickly through trades. Wait a few seconds and switch timeframe to retry.

“No chart data available”. The provider has nothing for that instrument. See Why a chart is blank.

The chart draws but your markers are off to one side. The trade’s times and the candle times are in different zones. Check your Trade Display Timezone, and your Broker Server Timezone if this came from a MetaTrader statement.

Add indicators to the chart Turn on moving averages, VWAP, Bollinger Bands, RSI and MACD, change their settings and colours, and understand why your phone does not have the setup you built on your laptop. Full-screen the trade chart Expand the trade chart to the whole screen on any device, what changes when you do, and why the button is greyed out until the candles arrive. Why a chart is blank Index options, Indian market symbols, delayed futures data and rate limiting all produce an empty chart for different reasons. Here is how to tell which one you have.

Still stuck? Email support@vexatrade.ai.