S&P 500 trading bot for MetaTrader 5
The S&P 500 is the deepest index market in the world. Mercury trades its breakouts from the US open into the afternoon with tight, rule-based stops.
SPX500, backtest January 2016 → October 2026, after costs.
How Mercury trades SPX500
Mercury runs all five strategies on SPX500: breakouts through H4 fair value gaps, daily and H4 swing levels, yesterday’s value area and untested daily POCs. Each trade needs a decisive close through the level and a confirming candle, enters between 12:00 and 16:00 UTC, carries a fixed stop and a 3R or 4R target, and is closed after eight hours at the latest. Mercury holds at most two SPX500 positions at a time.
When Mercury trades SPX500
The S&P 500 cash session opens at 13:30 UTC in summer and 14:30 UTC in winter. Mercury’s 12:00 to 16:00 UTC window covers the US data releases before the open and the first one and a half to two and a half hours of the session.
What moves S&P 500
- • US economic data, especially inflation and jobs figures released at 8:30 New York time.
- • Federal Reserve decisions and speeches.
- • Earnings across 500 large US companies, which tends to make it calmer than the Nasdaq.
SPX500 at your broker
Brokers name this market differently: SPX500, US500, SP500, USA500 or SPX, often with a suffix such as US500.cash or SP500m. The Mercury Bridge EA recognises these names automatically.
Sizing and costs on SPX500
S&P 500 CFDs are quoted in index points; your broker decides how many dollars one point is worth per lot. Mercury reads that from MT5 and from your broker’s own profit calculation, and uses the larger loss estimate, so a wrong broker figure can only make a trade smaller.
In the backtest
From January 2016 to October 2026, after costs: 97 trades, 37% winners, an average winner of 2.8R and a deepest drawdown of 10.8R. Most trades lost; the result came from winners being larger than losers. Simulated, not live.
SPX500 questions
- Why fewer S&P 500 trades than Nasdaq trades?
- The S&P 500 moves less, so fewer of its levels are broken decisively enough to pass the confirmation rule in the trading window.
- Can I switch the S&P 500 off?
- Yes. Every market can be switched on or off in your dashboard; changes apply to the next trade.
Hypothetical results from a backtest — simulated trades on historical prices with raw-spread costs (0.1 pip spread and $3.50 commission per side; index futures equivalent), not actual trading. The rules were built on 2012–2019 prices and checked on later years, but the results shown include the years they were built on, so live results are likely to be lower; your broker’s spreads, slippage and execution can differ. Past or simulated performance does not guarantee future results. Trading leveraged products can lose more than you expect.