Opening Bell Nasdaq MT5
An automated trading program for Nasdaq-100 futures (MNQ and NQ) on MetaTrader 5. It combines a multi-timeframe trend strategy with a New York opening range breakout. Every trade has a stop loss. One position at a time, one contract by default.
This site shows how it behaves, what it costs in losses and drawdown, and what we have not tested yet.
Launch price $49 a month, direct or on the MQL5 Market. Checkout and the MQL5 page are not open yet; version 1.00 is in its forward test.
- 1,877
- trades in the backtest, April 2024 to October 2026
- $2.00
- costs deducted from every round turn, measured on real statements
- 1
- position at a time, one contract by default
- 16 Oct 2026
- forward test started on a demo account
One trading day, in New York time
When each strategy can trade. The expert advisor converts these times to your broker's clock on its own.
- 17:00 to 18:00: daily CME halt, no positions held.
- Strategy 1: 18:30 to 08:55 and 10:55 to 16:55.
- Strategy 2: entries after the 09:30 open until 11:00, positions closed by 15:55.
Two kinds of results, never mixed
Simulated results are always marked in orange. Results from the forward test are marked in green.
Hypothetical backtest, not real trading
- Net profit, with costs
- $20,941.50
- Profit factor
- 1.21
- Max drawdown (closed trades)
- -$2,761.50
- Winning trades
- 39.6%
1 MNQ contract, MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester with real ticks, 1 April 2024 to 9 October 2026. With one extra tick of slippage on every entry and exit: $19,064.50. A single day, 9 April 2025, produced 17% of the net profit. Full results, losing months and streaks.
Forward test, demo account
Running since 16 October 2026
Version 1.00 with default settings, 1 MNQ contract, netting account, no manual intervention. The first monthly report, with every trade, will be published on the results page and linked to a monitored MQL5 signal.
A demo account is not real trading either. We will say so on every report.
HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER-OR-OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.
What you often see, and what we publish instead
You have probably seen expert advisor pages before. This is how we report.
| Often seen | On this site |
|---|---|
| Profit in the headline | Drawdown, losing months and the longest losing streak next to the profit |
| Backtests without commissions | Costs measured on real account statements and deducted from every trade, plus a slippage scenario |
| A high win rate as the main argument | 39.6% winning trades, and an explanation of why that is normal for this program |
| Backtests and live results in the same chart | Simulated in orange, forward test in green, never mixed |
| "Results may vary" in small print | The concrete reasons your results will differ, in the FAQ |
| Testimonials about profits | No testimonials. The forward test is published trade by trade instead |
| A product that quietly disappears when it stops working | If the forward test does not confirm the backtest, we say so and keep the record public |
What it does and what it does not do
It does
- Trade two rule-based strategies on the chart symbol: a multi-timeframe trend strategy and the New York opening range breakout.
- Send a stop loss and a take profit with every order.
- Hold at most one position at a time.
- Trade only inside fixed windows in New York time, and close before the daily CME halt.
- Stop for the day after a daily profit target or after three winning trades.
- Check free margin before every order and explain in the journal when it skips one.
- Manage only its own positions, by magic number.
It does not
- Use a grid, martingale or averaging into losing positions.
- Increase the volume after a loss.
- Widen a stop loss.
- Touch manual trades or positions opened by other expert advisors.
- Use DLLs, web requests or any outside service.
- Promise a profit. It loses on most days and in some months.
Who it is for, and who it is not for
It may fit you if
- You have a MetaTrader 5 broker that offers MNQ or NQ futures.
- You want fixed rules and accept that most trades are small losses.
- You can keep MetaTrader 5 running on a VPS or an always-on computer.
- You want to test it in your own Strategy Tester before you pay.
It is not for you if
- You are looking for a steady monthly income. There were losing months and losing streaks of 18 trades.
- Your account cannot take a drawdown of several thousand dollars per MNQ contract.
- You would switch it off after a few losses. The backtest results depend on following every trade.
- Your prop firm does not allow third-party expert advisors.
Instruments
| Profile | Instrument | Status |
|---|---|---|
| MNQ | Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures (CME) | Backtested on 11 quarterly contracts; forward test on a demo account since 16 October 2026 |
| NQ | E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures (CME), 10 times the size of MNQ | Same rules and point distances as MNQ |
| NAS100 CFD | Nasdaq-100 CFDs (NAS100, US100, USTEC, depending on the broker) | In testing. Not supported until it passes our criteria at a second broker |
You need a MetaTrader 5 broker that offers the instrument. See the FAQ for brokers, netting and hedging accounts, trading hours and prop firms.
Who is behind it
Opening Bell Algo is a one-person project by Silviu Bere, an independent developer of trading programs for MetaTrader 5. The program grew out of a long series of tests on MNQ futures, in which most ideas were rejected. Read how it was built.
Learn before you decide
Our first guide: how to check an expert advisor's backtest before you buy, with seven questions to ask any vendor, including us.
What you need to run it
For 1 MNQ contract at AMP. Our calculation, not investment advice.
- $15
- a month for CME market data in MetaTrader 5
- $10 to $15
- a month for the MQL5 VPS, or your own always-on computer
- ~$120
- a month in commissions, already deducted in our results
- $3,500
- account balance: the largest backtest drawdown plus a $500 buffer
On a NAS100 CFD (in testing) the position can be much smaller than 1 MNQ contract, down to $0.10 per point or less at many brokers, and the balance shrinks with it. The full budget, for MNQ, NQ and NAS100 CFDs
Before you buy
- Read the risks and the risk disclosure.
- Run the free demo from the MQL5 product page in your own Strategy Tester, on your broker's data.
- Check that your broker, account type and prop firm rules fit. See installation & settings and the FAQ.