Prices look invented, or move when the market is shut in NinjaTrader 8

What is causing it

You are connected to NinjaTrader's Simulated Data Feed, which generates artificial price movement and is not a market feed at all.

Why this happens

The Simulated Data Feed exists so people can click around the platform and test order entry without a market data account. It produces random price movement that has nothing to do with any exchange, so it never closes and never matches reality.

Because the artificial bars get written into your local historical data, a chart that was ever connected to it can keep showing junk long after you switch feeds. That is why reloading the data matters.

The fix, step by step

1. Open the Control Center and check the name of the active connection in the Connections menu.
2. If it is the Simulated Data Feed, disconnect from it.
3. Connect instead to your broker or data provider connection, which is the one you set up with real credentials.
4. Reload the chart so it discards the artificial bars and pulls genuine history.
5. If you have no real feed yet, set one up with your broker or a market data provider before doing any analysis or backtesting.

How to confirm it is fixed

Compare the current price on a front-month contract with any independent source, such as the exchange's own site or your broker's mobile app. They should agree, and the chart should stop printing bars once the session closes.

Stopping it happening again

Only use the Simulated Data Feed deliberately, and reload historical data afterwards. Never judge a strategy or an indicator on data from it.