Indicator Overview

The Market Depth Ladder turns raw order-book data into a clear, chart-based visualisation. It draws a series of rectangles representing active bid and ask prices, each annotated with volume information. This creates a live liquidity snapshot, showing how much buying or selling power exists at nearby price levels. The dominant side is automatically highlighted with stronger colour intensity, helping traders anticipate short-term price movement through real-time depth imbalance.

Background & History

Traditional order-flow traders often use standalone DOM (Depth of Market) windows to analyse liquidity. This tool brings that same insight directly onto the price chart, merging depth data with live price action. The concept of ladder overlays originates from futures and equities trading terminals, and this implementation elegantly integrates it into the cTrader environment. The result is a compact and intuitive way to monitor how liquidity shifts tick by tick around the current price.

How the Indicator Works

The indicator continuously reads MarketDepth data from cTrader and constructs two ladders:

• The bid ladder displays buy-side liquidity below the mid-price.

• The ask ladder shows sell-side liquidity above the mid-price.

• Each level represents a pip range and is filled with a rectangle whose colour and transparency reflect order volume.

• Text next to each rectangle shows price and formatted volume (k or m).

• When Auto-Colour Mode is enabled, the ladder dynamically highlights the dominant side based on total volume.

In effect, it overlays a small, real-time order-book heatmap directly on the chart so traders can interpret liquidity pressure without switching screens.

Key Features

The cTrader Market Depth Ladder combines volume clarity and price transparency in a single visual layer.

• Real-time visualisation of bid and ask volume.

• Auto-colour mode for quick dominance detection.

• Adjustable number of levels, ladder width, and pip spacing.

• Text display with colour contrast for dominant/weak sides.

• Optional rectangles for clean or minimal presentation.

• Compatible with all symbols that support Market Depth data.

How to Use it for Trading

This indicator is designed for order-flow and liquidity-aware trading, helping you interpret the balance of buying and selling pressure directly from the chart. It visualises where the largest resting orders sit and how they evolve as prices move, offering insight into short-term strength, exhaustion, or breakout intent.

• Liquidity imbalance. When total bid volume outweighs ask volume, buyers are stacking liquidity beneath price — often a sign of absorption and a potential upward bias. Conversely, dominant ask liquidity above price can act as resistance or signal passive selling.

• Visual clarity of strength. The indicator automatically highlights the highest-volume price level in bold white text, while weaker levels are displayed in soft grey text. This makes it instantly obvious which side of the book holds the strongest interest and where liquidity concentration is thickest.

• Thinning levels. If you see one side of the ladder losing volume rapidly — bids disappearing as price falls or asks vanishing as price rises — it often precedes volatility. Thinning liquidity means less depth to absorb orders, which increases the likelihood of a breakout or sharp pullback.

• Scalping confirmation. For short-term traders, the ladder works as a real-time confirmation tool. When a price-action setup aligns with dominance on the same side (for instance, bullish candle formation with stronger bids), the entry has higher conviction. If the ladder flips dominance right after entry, that’s an early sign to scale out or tighten stops.

• Trend validation. Combine the ladder with higher-timeframe indicators such as VWAP, Volume Profile, or momentum oscillators. When the broader trend direction and ladder dominance agree — for example, a rising VWAP with bold bid volume — the trade has stronger confluence. Divergence between the two may hint at exhaustion.

• Market timing. Before a major news or session opens, watch how liquidity stacks appear or vanish. Large bids that suddenly withdraw before an event can expose thin downside depth and forecast volatility. Observing this behaviour lets traders manage exposure proactively.

• Swing and positional context. Persistent bold bid levels forming near support often reveal accumulation, while bold ask levels near resistance can indicate distribution. Monitoring these zones over time helps identify areas where institutions may be building or unloading positions.

Beginners can start by observing how dominance shifts around consolidation zones and how the price reacts when the bold text (highest volume) changes side. Experienced traders can integrate the ladder into a complete order-flow toolkit, combining it with delta, footprint, or liquidity-map indicators to read volume imbalance and absorption with precision.

Inputs & Parameters

These user settings allow you to customise the ladder's look and responsiveness.

Advantages

This indicator integrates live liquidity data directly into your price action workflow. Traders can see at a glance where large buy or sell volumes sit and how they change in real time, offering deep insight into market behavior. It’s fast, visual, and ideal for those who track institutional activity or short-term momentum shifts.

Disadvantages

The accuracy of displayed data depends on your broker’s depth feed. On symbols or times with low liquidity, visible ladders may appear sparse. It should complement—not replace—traditional analysis tools such as price action, volume profile, or delta indicators.

How To Install & Remove

First, ensure that you have the cTrader trading platform installed. Then, unzip the file and double-click it to install the platform automatically.

• How to install
• How to open
• How to remove
• How to edit settings

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