How to Copy US30, NAS100 and Other Index Signals to MT5

To copy US30, NAS100 or other index signals from Telegram to MT5, the copier has to do three things right: match the channel's index name to your broker's symbol, read stops and targets in index points instead of forex pips, and size the lot for your broker's contract, which differs far more on indices than on currency pairs. Get the lot size wrong and a "small" index trade can risk ten times what you planned.

Index channels are popular because the moves are big and fast. That is also why they punish setup mistakes. This guide goes through each trap and the setting that handles it.

Why are index symbol names so different between brokers?

Forex pairs have one standard name. Index CFDs don't. Brokers name them after the cash index, the futures contract or their own house style, and add suffixes for account types. Channels write whatever their admin is used to.

The same broker can even list two versions, such as a cash CFD and a futures CFD with an expiry. Prices differ between them, so match the one the channel's prices fit, which is usually the cash CFD.

How the copier matches index names

MT5 Telegram Copier handles this in two steps.

First, the parser turns the channel's name into a standard one. DOW, DJ30 and WS30 all become US30. NASDAQ, US100, USTEC and NDX become NAS100. US500, SP500 and SPX become SPX500. DAX and DE40 become GER40, and FTSE becomes UK100.

Second, when it places the order, the copier reads your account's symbol list and looks for your broker's version. For NAS100 it tries NAS100 itself, then USTEC, US100, NDX100 and NQ100, then names with a suffix or prefix around them, like NAS100.cash. For US30 it also tries DJ30, WS30, DOW30 and US30Cash. Symbols your broker has set to trading disabled are passed over. In most cases nothing needs setting.

When it does need help:

• Your broker uses a name outside those lists. Add a rename under "Rename symbols", for example GER40=GERMANY40, plus a pip size for the new name (see the trap below).
• The channel writes a name the parser doesn't know. NDX100 BUY 19850 SL 19780 TP 19950 is read as "no symbol", because NDX100 isn't in the alias list. If that channel only trades one index, set "Symbol when the message has none" to NAS100. Otherwise, ask the admin to write a standard name.

Test each one before it matters. Paste a real signal into "test a message" and the dashboard shows the symbol and the account that would trade it, without placing anything. The symbol mapping guide covers the method in full.

Points vs pips on indices

Index signals are usually written as prices:

US30 SELL NOW 42150 SL 42250 TP1 42050 TP2 41950

Those are absolute levels, so no conversion is needed. The trouble starts when a channel writes distances, such as "SL 40 pips" or "TP 80 points". On indices, most people mean one index point. The copier's pip size presets agree: US30, NAS100, GER40 and UK100 use 1, and SPX500 uses 0.1. So "SL 40 pips" on US30 puts the stop 40 points from the entry.

The same pip size drives other settings, which is worth knowing on indices:

Thirty points is a small distance on NAS100 on a busy day, so you may want a larger "close enough" value for index channels.

One trap with renames: pip sizes are looked up by the name after your rename. If you add NAS100=USTEC, the copier looks for a pip size for USTEC, doesn't find one, and falls back to the forex default of 0.0001. Any pip-based stop or distance is then wrong. Either leave the rename out, since the automatic matching usually finds USTEC anyway, or add USTEC=1 under "Pip sizes".

Why lot sizes on indices are different from forex

On forex, one standard lot is 100000 units at almost every broker, so 0.10 lots means roughly the same risk everywhere. Indices have no such standard. One lot of US30 might be worth 1 unit of currency per point at one broker, 10 at another, and 0.1 at a third. Minimum lots and lot steps differ too.

So a fixed lot copied from the channel, or from a friend's setup, can be far off. Take a 100-point stop on US30:

Check your own broker: in MT5, right-click the symbol in Market Watch and open Specification. Note the contract size, minimum volume and volume step.

Use % risk sizing for index signals

The cleaner way is "Risk % of balance". The copier sizes each trade so the stop-loss costs the percentage you set, using your broker's own contract data for that symbol. A 1% risk on a 5000 account aims for about 50 at the stop, whether the stop is 40 points on US30 or 15 points on GER40, and whatever your broker's contract size is.

Two limits to keep in mind:

• Risk mode needs a stop-loss. Signals without one are skipped while "Skip signals without a stop-loss" is on.
• If the calculated lot is below your broker's minimum, the copier opens the minimum lot and notes it in the live feed. On a small account with a wide index stop, the minimum lot can risk more than your %. The "What would open?" table on the settings page shows what your settings produce.

Set "Never open more than (lots in total)" as well. It caps each signal, so a typo or a huge stop can't produce an oversized position. The risk settings guide has starting values.

The opening spread and session gaps

Index CFDs trade most of the day, but liquidity is thin around the daily break and the spread widens. The US cash open at 09:30 New York time brings fast moves, and many channels post signals right into it.

What can go wrong, and the setting for each:

• Spread spikes. A spread of several points at the open eats into a tight stop. Set "Skip if the spread is wider than" in points for the account that copies the index channel.
• Price runs past the entry. A "SELL NOW" can be 20 points away by the time it fills. Set "Price already further past the entry zone than that" to Skip if you never want a worse fill.
• Market closed. Outside the symbol's session, the copier gets no price and reports "no price ... (market closed?)". Weekend gaps work the same way.
• Gaps through the stop. A stop doesn't protect you from a gap. The trade closes at the first price after it. Hold fewer index trades over the weekend if that worries you.

If the channel trades only one session, the trading hours setting can limit copying to it, for example 14:00-21:00 in Europe/London time.

A starting setup for an index channel

1. Check the symbol in "test a message" with one real signal per index the channel trades.
2. Lot mode: Risk % of balance, 0.5% to start.
3. Max lot: a number that fits your account, never empty.
4. Skip signals without a stop-loss: on.
5. Close enough to enter now: raise from 30 if the channel trades NAS100 on volatile days.
6. Max spread: set in points, based on your broker's normal spread for the index.
7. Run it on a demo account at the same broker for two weeks.

Gold channels have a similar set of traps, covered in copying gold signals to MT5.

Index signals FAQ