True Multi-Market Keyboard Trading

Sierra Chart natively supports basic keyboard trading functionality. Users can assign hotkeys to common trading actions such as buy, sell, or flatten. However, these hotkeys only operate on the chart that is currently in focus. To place a trade in another market, the user must manually activate the corresponding chart window before pressing the key. This additional step introduces both delay and complexity.

ST Hotkey Trader™ was developed to address this exact limitation and is invaluable for fast traders, particularly those specializing in news trading, order flow trading, or intraday strategies.

ST Hotkey Trader™ enables true multi-market keyboard trading.

With this approach, each hotkey is no longer tied to a single chart or instrument. Instead, it is linked to one or more predefined markets, including baskets of markets and different Sierra Chart instances (across multiple locations and accounts if required). Pressing the key will immediately execute the corresponding action: buy, sell, cancel, or any other supported command, across all assigned symbols and instances, simultaneously and without the need to shift chart focus.

This functionality is especially powerful when trading related instruments, such as bonds and equity indices, or crude oil and the Canadian dollar. During news releases or high-volatility periods, correlated markets often move together within fractions of a second. The ability to act across multiple instruments with a single keystroke gives traders a clear operational advantage. No other software provides this level of control.

ST Hotkey Trader™ is currently the only solution on the market that offers true multi-market keyboard trading with Sierra Chart. For active discretionary traders who rely on speed and precision, this represents a significant edge.

Example Use Case - Newstrading: FOMC Surprise Rate Cut

Scenario: It’s FOMC decision day. The market was pricing in no change, but the Fed unexpectedly announces a 50 basis point rate cut. This is a highly impactful macro event that triggers immediate and widespread movement across multiple correlated markets.

Expected Immediate Reactions

  • US Treasuries (ZN, ZB futures): Spike up (bond prices rise on lower rates)
  • Equity Index Futures (ES, NQ, RTY futures): Spike up (risk-on reaction, liquidity boost)
  • Gold (GC futures): Spike up (dollar weakness + inflation hedge)
  • US Dollar Index (DX futures): Sharp drop (USD weakens on dovish surprise)
  • Crude Oil (CL futures): Spike up (dollar drop + growth optimism)
  • Euro, Yen (6E and 6J futures): Spike up vs. USD (capital shift away from dollar)

Goal: Get into the trade, fast

Without ST Hotkey Trader, to initiate trades, a trader would need to select the respective chart in Sierra Chart and right click on the chart to submit orders (using chart trading) or would need to click on buttons in the chart trading window or the trading DOM. To trade multiple markets, he would need to do this multiple times. The entire process would probably take around 20 seconds.

With ST Hotkey Trader, the same trader would simply press one button for each market he wants to trade. This can be as simple as pressing the buttons "Buy ZB", "Buy ZN", "Buy ES", "Buy NQ", "Buy GC", "Sell 6E". The position size could be pre configured as part of the trading session preparation or can be determined using the position sizing functions of ST Hotkey Trader.

Similarly, the trader can create Stop Loss stop orders and Take Profit limit orders at the touch of a button, or adjust these (for example, move stops to break even once the position is well in profit) using other keyboard buttons. The order placement, order modification and position flattening/order cancellation process has become ultra fast - a significant edge while competing with other traders who still rely on graphical user interfaces. It is, of course, best practice to monitor your trades in Sierra Chart once orders have been submitted.