It’s important to remember that in CFD and spread betting, each instrument will have a bid-ask spread, which is the difference between the bid and ask (‘sell’ and ‘buy’) prices of the security. This is the fee for executing your trade.
If you are looking at a chart and it isn’t clear why your pending order has not been triggered, please double-check that you have the chart set to the correct settings.
For a long position, any pending order to buy will need to see the ‘Ask’ (buy) price reach your designated level. Conversely, a pending order to open a short position will be triggered basis the ‘Bid’ (sell) price.
Similarly, if you have attached a stop or take-profit order to an open long position, this is an instruction to sell at the levels you have specified. Therefore, you will need to ensure that the chart is set to display the ‘Bid’ (sell price).
An attached stop or take-profit to a short position is an instruction to buy to close the position once the specified levels have been reached. Therefore, in this circumstance, the chart setting would need to show the ‘Ask’ (buy price).