Why News Events Get Their Own Rule
A normal trading hour and a high-impact news release are not the same risk environment, even on the same instrument. Spreads widen, liquidity thins, and price can move through several normal stop-loss distances in the space of a few seconds. Prop firms single this out with its own rule because it's one of the few moments where a single, well-sized trade can still produce an outsized, unpredictable loss — and firms want evaluation results that reflect skill, not news-moment luck or misfortune.
What a Typical News Trading Restriction Looks Like
Most firms that restrict news trading do it with a time window around the release, not a blanket ban on trading that day. A common format:
- No new positions opened within X minutes before a scheduled high-impact release.
- No positions closed within X minutes after the release (sometimes), to prevent gaming the restriction by entering just before and exiting just after.
- The restriction applies to specific instruments affected by the release (e.g., USD pairs around a US Non-Farm Payrolls release), not necessarily every instrument on the platform.
Worked example: a ±2-minute restriction around a high-impact release
If a release is scheduled for 12:30 UTC, the restriction window runs from 12:28 to 12:32 UTC. A trader who opens a new position at 12:27:30 — technically before the window starts — but holds it through the release is not breaking the entry-timing rule, but is still fully exposed to the volatility the rule exists to warn about. The rule restricts when you can act, not the market risk itself; staying out of a volatile window entirely is the safer practice regardless of the exact letter of the rule.
Why "Technically Allowed" Doesn't Mean "Smart"
Even on firms that permit news trading, holding a position through a major release carries real execution risk: slippage past your intended stop, a spread spike that triggers a stop that wouldn't otherwise have been hit, or a gap that skips straight past multiple price levels. A position sized correctly for normal volatility can be oversized for news-moment volatility, purely because the price range moved so much further than the stop distance assumed.
Practical approach: even where allowed, reduce position size materially (by half or more) for any trade held through a scheduled high-impact release, or close/flatten before the window and re-enter once volatility has settled.
Checking Which Releases Count as "High-Impact"
Economic calendars (widely available free online) classify releases by expected market impact — typically high/medium/low. The releases that matter most for restriction purposes are usually central bank rate decisions, major employment reports, and inflation data (CPI). Build a habit of checking the calendar at the start of each trading day, not reactively when a candle suddenly moves.
How It Works on WICK FUNDED
WICK FUNDED allows news trading, with a ±2-minute restriction window around scheduled high-impact releases — you can trade through news, but not open or close positions in the immediate window around the release itself. This sits inside the same daily and max drawdown limits that apply the rest of the time (4–5% daily, 5–10% max depending on track — see /rules), so a volatile news move is measured against the exact same static floor explained in drawdown explained — there's no special, looser allowance for news-driven losses. The in-house terminal's live floating P&L display is particularly useful around news: it shows the real-time impact of a spike before you decide whether to hold or close.
FAQ
Can I trade during news events on WICK FUNDED? Yes — WICK FUNDED permits news trading, with a ±2-minute restriction on opening or closing positions in the window immediately around a scheduled high-impact release.
What counts as a "high-impact" news release? Typically central bank interest rate decisions, major employment reports (like US Non-Farm Payrolls), and inflation data (CPI) — classified as high-impact on most public economic calendars.
What happens if I open a position right at the edge of the restriction window? Firms vary on enforcement — some flag it manually, some restrict automatically at the platform level. Always check your specific firm's published rule rather than assuming a few seconds of margin is safe.
Is it safer to just avoid trading on news days entirely? It removes a specific risk category, but news days also bring volume and movement some strategies rely on. A middle ground — reduced size through the actual release window — is more common among experienced evaluation traders than avoiding the whole day.
Does the news restriction apply to the funded account, or only the challenge? This varies by firm — confirm whether a news trading rule carries over after you pass into a funded account, since some rules are evaluation-only.
Simulated trading evaluation — no real funds are traded. Not financial advice.