When the restricted window applies
News-trading rules apply to challenge and funded accounts unless your specific plan allows news trading or MarketMates provides written approval. Where the restriction applies, you must not open, close or hold a position during the 15 minutes before a restricted high-impact event or the first 3 minutes after its scheduled release.
You must be flat during this period. Restricted events are identified on the official economic calendar inside the MarketMates platform and may include Non-Farm Payrolls, inflation reports and central-bank interest-rate decisions.
Pending orders and responsibility
Do not place or modify a pending stop or limit order if it could be triggered during the restricted period. MarketMates does not automatically close positions before an event; you are responsible for checking the calendar and closing affected positions before the window begins.
Plans that allow news trading
Gambling on news is prohibited even when your plan allows news trading. Do not deliberately increase position size before an event or use more than 50% of available margin on a trade or related group of trades.
What happens if I make a mistake?
An accidental violation may be reviewed as a soft breach, but this does not guarantee a particular outcome. Depending on the circumstances, MarketMates may allow trading to continue, require a restart, fail the challenge, remove affected profits or close a funded account.
Deliberate news trading or excessive risk around an event may result in more serious action.
Check current Prop Trading challenges, rules, and plan details