Understanding Algorithmic Trading Trends: When Automated Systems Read the Market
JAKARTA — The advancement of financial technology has transformed how many traders make decisions in the market. Whereas previously transactions relied heavily on manual analysis, an increasing number of traders now leverage automated systems to read market movements and execute transactions.
This approach is known as algorithmic trading, a trading method that uses computer algorithms to analyse market data and automatically execute transactions according to pre-programmed parameters.
One example of such system utilisation is the automated trading system or Expert Advisor (EA) developed by Indonesian trader Narko Santoso, which has been included in the list of the 50 best trading systems in the world on the MQL5 platform.
“Trading is not mere speculation. Trading is about systems, discipline, and structured risk management,” Narko said through a press release to Kompas.com on Wednesday (11 March 2026).
In the platform’s ranking, the EA system developed by Narko made the top 50 out of thousands of available trading systems.
Data from the MQL5 community shows that the trading system has been used by more than 3,000 traders with approximately 5,000 active trading accounts running the system at various international brokers.
The EA system works automatically by analysing market movements and executing transactions based on the parameters of the algorithm that was previously programmed.
This method uses multiple trading accounts simultaneously with different systems to distribute risk and maintain stable trading performance across various market conditions.
Amid the development of this technology, transparency of performance has become one of the important factors in assessing the credibility of automated trading systems.
Systems deemed credible generally have transaction history that can be verified through real accounts, clear risk management, and consistent performance over a certain period of time.
Conversely, non-credible systems often only display simulation or backtest results without verifiable real transaction data.
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has stated that alleged price manipulation practices or “penny stock” schemes are no longer operating without oversight. Through a technology-based early warning system (EWS), any transaction anomalies can be detected in real time and immediately trigger swift action.
Hasan Fawzi, Acting Head of Capital Markets, Derivatives Finance, and Carbon Exchange Supervision at OJK, said that capital market surveillance mechanisms are now conducted through technology-based monitoring systems integrated with the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI).
“This system is called the smart surveillance system, which is operated at both OJK and, notably, at the Indonesia Stock Exchange,” said Hasan during the CNBC Indonesia Market Outlook 2026 event on Tuesday (3 March 2026).