Trading software US stocks

[thevinman]

Hi Guys,

I know this isnt the right thread, but I think I will get the best result for my question. I use esignal as my charting software for years now. Since a few months I have a big problem with not receiving data from esignal on time. I have delays between 9 and 30 seconds at some times. This frustrates the hell out of me. Interactivebrokers has no problem with supplying correct data, but their charting is not that good.

Can someone advice me on good charting software? ( that I also can link with IB?)

Thanks,

thevinman

 

[Mr. Charts]

Piet,
Mine is spot on, identical with IB and with instant fills Nasdaq and NYSE at the price I see on my screens.
Make sure you are using the latest version. Mine is dated 22/10/2008. If yours isn't, update it.
If there is still a problem, ring them; they are very helpful.
I have emailed you additional info.
Hope that helps,
Richard

 

[thevinman]

Piet,
Mine is spot on, identical with IB and with instant fills Nasdaq and NYSE at the price I see on my screens.
Make sure you are using the latest version. Mine is dated 22/10/2008. If yours isn't, update it.
If there is still a problem, ring them; they are very helpful.
I have emailed you additional info.
Hope that helps,
Richard

Hi Richard,

Thank you for the information. I have been on the phone with them on and of for over 5 months. It has to do with the internet connection. I changed my internet connection from cable to DSL, but since this week DSL is also not working properly. It was even worse with their beta version.

It seems there are hubs that dont deliver the data packages on time. Today I had a delay of 45 seconds with the beta version. I now have the 10.2 version on my computer again. It is frustrating and I am losing money because I am more focused on the software than on trading.

Cheers,

theinvman

 

[BTippen]

thevinman,

I had all the same problems with esignal and IB that you are talking about.

There are many charting packages out there that will use IB's data (ensign is 1 of them).

But i also found IB's commissions rates poor and also their order execution is terrible. If you bid a stock and some1 hits you the ECN's pay out for this as you have added liquidity to the market. On ARCA for example they pay back $0.0023/shre for adding liquidity. This means you can trade 1000 shares for just $1.6 as my broker charges $0.0039 so 3.9 - 2.3 With IB you pay what? $7.5? PLus remember you are capturing the spread with +liquidity so its a win win win deal.... but not if your with IB lol

Also with IB how quick can you put an order 1c higher than the bid and hide it on ISLD (my broker still calls it isld) answer = ages, if at all.

Esignal charts look good sure but its L2 sucks. You need the ENC's at the different levels on the L2 otherwise its useless. Some1 might be sitting at the next level on the offer showing 100000 shares which you wont see with esignal unless you switch to singlebook at the bottom of the L2 which is an absolute joke IMO.

I tell you all this because i remember how frustrating it was for me to have all these lag problems specially when you are trying to learn this trading lark.
But once I changed I realised how much more i was missing.

To summarise if you are using Esignal and IB combo you are at a huge disadvantage

PM me and I will give you more details about who i use.


Happy trading.


Ben

 

[thevinman]

Hi Btippen,

I have send you a PM. I will take your advice and check out ensign. It doesnt have everything I want but it uses the data of IB. This way my charts are up to date and I can focus on my trading.

I am looking forward to the info on the software you are using.

Kind regards,

thevinman

 

[ezreddy]

thevinman,
I ran into the same trouble with esignal about nine months ago on a trial version. The data was lagging. At the time, I only noticed when I compared the TDA streaming quotes with esignal. I then searched the esignal forum and found a long thread which discussed this problem and the fact that it had been ongoing for some time. I opted not to pay for a streaming account which was lagging behind as much as 30 seconds. I am not sure if they ever put out a fix or determined the cause of their problems, but Richard does not appear to have any issues. I am currently using Quotetracker which has many of the features that I am looking for and is free. The programming is limited but the service is first rate. If you were to look at an Izone account with TDA, then you could trade at a flat $5 with free software. With that setup, you would have to pay an additional $15 to get the streaming quotes as well. They do offer level 2, but I do not have a good comparison to give you for this service. I am also working some with Sierra Charts and they have excellent charting software with good programmability. Naturally this one comes with a cost and you still need a broker. I am sure that I will be on the lookout for better software and brokers in perpetuity and welcome any other suggestions out there.

 

[RubenE]

Hi thevinman,

As a sidenote, it's also possible to use IB data in Amibroker. See: How to use AmiBroker with Interactive Brokers TWS
I haven't tested this live yet, but will do that soon. You could however try it with a trial version of Amibroker just to see if it works for you. Just a suggestion.

Best regards,
Ruben.

 

[thevinman]

Hi thevinman,

As a sidenote, it's also possible to use IB data in Amibroker. See: How to use AmiBroker with Interactive Brokers TWS
I haven't tested this live yet, but will do that soon. You could however try it with a trial version of Amibroker just to see if it works for you. Just a suggestion.

Best regards,
Ruben.

Hi Guys,

Thank you very much for the info. The last two weeks I have tested several charting software and datafeeds. I concluded that for the way I trade stocks, esignal is the best software.

On friday I started to trade again with esignal and immediately I had problems with the data feed; AGAIN!!!. So I have decided to stop day trading stocks and focus on other products with other software.

I am going to use sierrachart or ninjatrader for my trading and I will need to find another broker. But first I am going to chill.:drunk:

Thanks again for all your replies.

Kind regards,

thevinman

 

[PitBull]

sorry to hear of your problems pete. As you say, step back, chill and decide what's the best way forward. I hope it all works out for you.

 

[BTippen]

Hi Guys,

Thank you very much for the info. The last two weeks I have tested several charting software and datafeeds. I concluded that for the way I trade stocks, esignal is the best software.

On friday I started to trade again with esignal and immediately I had problems with the data feed; AGAIN!!!. So I have decided to stop day trading stocks and focus on other products with other software.

I am going to use sierrachart or ninjatrader for my trading and I will need to find another broker. But first I am going to chill.:drunk:

Thanks again for all your replies.

Kind regards,

thevinman

Why dont u switch to the broker i said and use their L2 and link it to your esignal charts. That way you get the best of both worlds.

 

[dvdh]

Why dont u switch to the broker i said and use their L2 and link it to your esignal charts. That way you get the best of both worlds.

That's because his charts are lagging. Interactive Brokers is just fine! It's not about the Level II in eSignal, It's about the charts.

As I explained to peter on the phone, the real problem with eSignal has nothing to do with eSignal itself. It's the internet connection.
And it has to do with Amsterdam Internet Exchange. That's where all internet connections go to before they spread around the world.
The problem with ADSL and cable here in holland is that it goes through up to 8 hubs, before it's in Amsterdam. And then it has to go to the US. And there is data loss between home/office to Amsterdam.
I'm also located in Holland. But I have a glass fiber internet connection (for data centers) and for me it takes 4 hubs to get to amsterdam. And therefore I don't have package loss.

-Dave

 

[BTippen]

Interactive Brokers is just fine!
-Dave

If you say so Looks like I stand corrected.

 

[dvdh]

If you say so Looks like I stand corrected.

Hey BTippen,

reading it back it sounds a little harsh what I wrote. I'm sorry for that.

I was just explaining, that Peter doesn't have problems with IB, but that eSignal is the problem and that's because of his ISP.
I'm not trying to say that IB is the best broker. I think everyone has their own preferences. But when you say 0.0039 in commissions excluding rebates. I believe you're talking about Lightspeed, right?
I checked out their platform. I gotta say, it looks pretty darn good. But I think in the end it's probably gonna be more expensive, because 95% of the time we take liquidity instead of adding it. So than it's 0.0039 + an average of 0.0025 = 0.0064. Which does make it a little more expensive than IB. But with IB you can also chose for an unbundled fee structure. Then it's 0.0035 for the broker +/- ecn fees/rebates. And the initial broker fee goes down in tiers. Depending on the size you trade.

I used to trade with Genesis securities, so did Peter, and they were the best at the time. But when ISLD, SOES and BRUT merged into NSDQ it got really bad there. And when the NYSE went hybrid they couldn't handle the data anymore, which made it virtually impossible to trade the first hour. So I had to close my account with them and went to Interactive Brokers, and I'm very please with them. Especially because you can trade the US market with EURO currency accounts.
But nonetheless, Lightspeed looks like a great platform. I would open an account with them if they had better fees.

Trade safe,

Dave

 

[BTippen]

Hey BTippen,

.... because 95% of the time we take liquidity instead of adding it. ...
Dave

Interesting to see you say that. One of the things i focus on is trying at add liquidity at lease 50% of the time. I dont like to be in a frame of mind where i jumping into trades without being patient. I would say if I use market orders (-liquity), then 95% of the time I could have got a better price if I were more patient.

There are of course the rare occasions when I use a market order and the price shoots off putting me straight into profit but these occasions are so rare its not worth trying them in the first place.

IMO the only time you should hit a market order is when you are getting out of a failed trade.

I've gone way off topic sry..

 

[dvdh]

Interesting to see you say that. One of the things i focus on is trying at add liquidity at lease 50% of the time. I dont like to be in a frame of mind where i jumping into trades without being patient. I would say if I use market orders (-liquity), then 95% of the time I could have got a better price if I were more patient.

There are of course the rare occasions when I use a market order and the price shoots off putting me straight into profit but these occasions are so rare its not worth trying them in the first place.

IMO the only time you should hit a market order is when you are getting out of a failed trade.

I've gone way off topic sry..

Adding liquidity vs. taking liquidity depends on your strategy. If I would try to add liquidity I wouldn't make a dime. If your profit target is 10 - 20 cents then it would seriously reduce your profits if you pay the spread every time. But when the target is 1 buck and up, then I couldn't care less about paying 2 cents spread vs. not getting filled and missing out.