Why can a trade close before the market reaches its configured stop-loss level?

A trade can close before the market price visibly reaches your stop-loss level due to spread widening and slippage — two market conditions that are beyond Maven's control.

Spread Widening
The spread is the difference between the bid and ask price. When market volatility increases (e.g., during major news releases, the Asian session, or market rollover hours between 21:00–22:00 UTC), spreads can widen significantly. Because stop-losses are triggered on the bid/ask price rather than the mid-market price, a widening spread can cause your stop-loss to be hit even though the chart price has not yet reached your configured level.

Slippage
Slippage occurs when a market moves so quickly that your stop-loss cannot be filled at the exact configured price. Instead, it executes at the next available price, which may be worse than intended. For example, if your stop-loss was set for a $15 loss but the market gapped or moved rapidly (such as during NFP or other high-impact news), the trade may close at a larger loss (e.g., $28). This is an industry-standard behaviour affecting all brokers.

Stop-losses and take-profits are triggers, not guaranteed exit prices. When the bid or ask price (depending on trade direction) reaches your SL or TP level, a market order is automatically sent to close the trade at the next best available quote. If that quote matches your SL/TP price exactly, the trade closes there. If not, the fill slips to the nearest available price — which can be higher or lower than your intended level. This same mechanic applies to pending and market orders.

Key scenarios where this commonly occurs:

• High-impact news events (e.g., NFP, CPI, FOMC)
• Market rollover/spread hours (21:00–22:00 UTC)
• Low-liquidity sessions or weekends
• Highly volatile instruments (gold, crypto)

Maven has no control over spreads or slippage. To reduce exposure to these effects, consider trading less volatile pairs (e.g., major USD forex pairs) and avoid holding positions through high-impact news events or rollover hours.

Updated on: 29/09/2026