Why is my chart delayed, showing question marks or only partially populated?

Background: 
What  are SMART Charts and how are they generated?

The SMART charting mechanism analyzes and compares the market data coming from all venues a given contract is traded on and graphically displays the most favorable quotes.

When all the data streams are live, the data points are available for all sources and for each time point, thus they can be fully compared. The resulting SMART chart will be up to date and fully populated, moreover it will constantly and automatically update1.  

The comparison between non synchronized market data streams (some live and some delayed) is just partially possible, since the delayed feeds are lacking data points for the last 15 or 20 minutes. Therefore, within that time frame, the SMART chart will usually display a series of yellow question marks to indicate unavailability of source data. In this case the SMART Chart will not update automatically.

When the lack of data points is more extensive or when the Exchange does not distribute delayed data for a given contract, the correspondent SMART Chart may be completely blank.

What should I do to obtain a fully populated, up-to-date chart?

If your trading method is based on SMART charts, you would need to activate the live market data subscriptions for all the marketplaces your financial instruments are traded on2. For additional details, please see KB1201

If your trading method does not require SMART charts, you can decide to use Direct chart routing as a workaround.

A Directed Chart will allow you to graphically represent the market data coming from a single, specific Exchange. When possible, we suggest to select the primary marketplace for the product for this purpose, since this is usually the one offering the highest liquidity and trade volume, hence normally providing the most favorable quotes. If you have subscribed the market data for that venue, the resulting Directed Chart will be fully populated, up to date and it will update automatically1.

 
How do I set up a Directed Chart?

1.  Within a watchlist, type the contract symbol and press Enter on your keyboard.


2.  When then contract selection menu appears, select the item Stock (Directed). If you do not see this item, click on the small down arrow at the bottom of the menu to reveal the hidden menu items.


3.  The Exchange selection screen will appear. You can now select the main Exchange for the product or the Exchange for which you have an active live market data subscription. Once done, click OK.


4.  Within your watchlist you will see a newly created Directed Ticker line. It will contain the contract symbol and, preceded by the @ sign, the Exchange you selected at the previous step. Right click on that directed ticker line and select Chart > New Chart

 

5. The chart will be shown. On the left side of the toolbar, after the contract symbol, you will see the Exchange you selected preceeded by a @ sign, indicating that this is a Directed Chart.
 

Notes
1. In order for the chart to update automatically, the checkbox "Keep chart up to date" has to be activated in the Chart Parameters panel. The panel is reachable directly within the chart window, from the top menu Edit.
2. Alternative streaming quotes for EU equities are available to clients with non-professional or non-commercial market data subscriber status. The complimentary real-time streaming Best Bid and Offer and last sale quotes on European Equities will be aggregated from exchanges such as Cboe Europe, Gettex, Tradegate and Turquoise. The data will display in the SMART quote line and can be used to generate a chart as well. Users who would like to receive the full EBBO (European Best Bid and Offer) will need to subscribe to the individual exchange subscriptions.

 

Delayed Market Data Timing

Overview: 

Market data vendors typically offer exchange data in two categories, real-time and delayed. Real-time market data is disseminated as soon as the information is publicly available. Delayed market data is on a time lag that is usually 10-20 minutes behind real-time quotes.

Some exchanges allow delayed data to be displayed without any market data subscription, free of charge. A list of the exchanges we provide delayed data for at no cost and without formal request (i.e., the delayed data will be displayed upon entry of the product symbol on the trading platform) are outlined in the table below. The table also includes the corresponding real-time subscription, the fees for which are posted on IBKR's public website

Please Note:

  • In accordance with regulatory requirements, IBKR no longer offers delayed quotation information on U.S. equities to Interactive Brokers LLC clients.
  • Delayed quotes should be used for indicative purposes and not necessarily for trading. The times mentioned may be subject to further delays without notice.

 

 

The Americas

External Exchange Name IB Exchange Name Delay Period Real Time Subscription
CBOT CBOT 10 minutes CBOT Real-Time
CBOE Futures Exchange CFE 10 minutes CFE Enhanced
Market Data Express (MDX) CBOE 10 minutes CBOE Market Data Express Indices
CME CME 10 minutes CME Real-Time
COMEX COMEX 10 minutes COMEX Real-Time
ICE US NYBOT 10 minutes ICE Futures U.S. (NYBOT)
Mexican Derivatives Exchange MEXDER 15 minutes Mexican Derivatives Exchange
Mexican Stock Exchange MEXI 20 minutes Mexican Stock Exchange
Montreal Exchange CDE 15 minutes Montreal Exchange
NYMEX NYMEX 10 minutes NYMEX Real-Time
NYSE GIF NYSE 15 minutes NYSE Global Index Feed
One Chicago ONE 10 minutes OneChicago
OPRA OPRA 15 minutes OPRA Top of Book (L1) (US Option Exchanges)
OTC Markets PINK 15 minutes OTC Markets
Toronto Stock Exchange TSE 15 minutes Toronto Stock Exchange
Venture Exchange VENTURE 15 minutes TSX Venture Exchange

 

Europe

External Exchange Name IB Exchange Name Delay Period Real Time Subscription
BATS Europe BATE/CHIX 15 minutes European (BATS/Chi-X) Equities
Boerse Stuttgart SWB 15 minutes Stuttgart Boerse incl. Euwax (SWB)
Bolsa de Madrid BM 15 minutes Bolsa de Madrid
Borsa Italiana BVME/IDEM 15 minutes Borsa Italiana (BVME stock / SEDEX / IDEM deriv)
Budapest Stock Exchange BUX 15 minutes Budapest Stock Exchange
Eurex EUREX 15 minutes Eurex Real-Time Information
Euronext AEB/SBF/MATIF/BELFOX 15 minutes Euronext Cash
Euronext AEB/SBF/MATIF/BELFOX 15 minutes Euronext Data Bundle
Frankfurt Stock Exchange and XETRA FWB/IBIS/XETRA 15 minutes Spot Market Germany (Frankfurt/Xetra)
ICE Futures Europe (Commodities) IPE 10 minutes ICE Futures E.U. - Commodities (IPE)
ICE Futures Europe (Financials) ICEEU 10 minutes ICE Futures E.U. – Financials (LIFFE)
LSE LSE 15 minutes LSE UK
LSEIOB LSEIOB 15 minutes LSE International
MEFF MEFF 15 minutes BME (MEFF)
NASDAQ OMX Nordic Derivatives OMS 15 minutes Nordic Derivatives
Prague Stock Exchange PRA 15 minutes Prague Stock Exchange Cash Market
SWISS Exchange EBS/VIRTX 15 minutes SIX Swiss Exchange
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange TASE 15 minutes Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
Turquoise ECN TRQXCH/TRQXDE/TRQXEN 15 minutes Turquoise ECNs
Warsaw Stock Exchange WSE 15 minutes Warsaw Stock Exchange

 

Asia

External Exchange Name IB Exchange Name Delay Period Real Time Subscription
Australian Stock Exchange ASX 20 minutes ASX Total
Hang Seng Indices HKFE-IND 15 minutes Hang Seng Indexes
Hong Kong Futures Exchange HKFE 15 minutes Hong Kong Derivatives (Fut & Opt)
Hong Kong Stock Exchange SEHK 15 minutes Hong Kong Securities Exchange (Stocks, Warrants & Bonds)
Korea Stock Exchange KSE 20 minutes Korea Stock Exchange
National Stock Exchange of India NSE 15 minutes National Stock Exchange of India, Capital Market Segment
Osaka Securities Exchange OSE.JPN 20 minutes Osaka Exchange
SGX Derivatives SGX 10 minutes Singapore Exchange (SGX) - Derivatives
Shanghai Stock Exchange SEHKNTL 15 minutes Shanghai Stock Exchange
Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market SEHKSTAR 15 minutes Shanghai Stock Exchange
Shenzhen Stock Exchange SEHKSZSE 15 minutes Shenzhen Stock Exchange
Singapore Stock Exchange SGX 10 minutes Singapore Exchange (SGX) - Stocks
Australia Securities Exchange ASX24 10 minutes ASX24 Commodities and Futures
Taiwan Stock Exchange TWSE 20 minutes Taiwan Stock Exchange
Tokyo Stock Exchange TSEJ 20 minutes Tokyo Stock Exchange

 

Risk Navigator: Alternative Margin Calculator

Overview: 

IB routinely reviews margin levels and will implement changes which serve to increase requirements above statutory minimums as market conditions warrant.  To assist clients with understanding the effects of such changes on their portfolio, a feature referred to as the "Alternative Margin Calculator" is provided within the Risk Navigator application. Outlined below are the steps for creating a “what-if” portfolio for the purpose of determining the impact of such margin changes.

Step 1: Open a new “What-if” portfolio

From the Classic TWS trading platform, select the Analytical Tools, Risk Navigator, and then Open New What-If menu options (Exhibit1).

Exhibit 1
 

From the Mosaic TWS trading platform, select New Window, Risk Navigator, and then Open New What-If menu options.

Step 2: Define starting portfolio

A pop-up window will appear (Exhibit 2) from which you will be prompted to define whether you would like to create a hypothetical portfolio starting from your current portfolio or a newly created portfolio. Clicking on the "yes" button will serve to download existing positions to the new “What-If” portfolio.

Exhibit 2
 

Clicking on the "No" button will open up the “What – If” Portfolio with no positions.


Risk Dashboard

The Risk Dashboard is pinned along the top of the product tab-sets, and is and is available for what-if as well as active portfolios. The values are calculated on demand for what-if portfolios. The dashboard provides at-a-glance account information including:

1) Net Liquidation Value: The total Net Liquidation Value for the account
2) P&L: The total daily P&L for the entire portfolio
3) Maintenance Margin: Total current maintenance margin
4) Initial Margin: Total initial margin requirements
5) VAR: Shows the Value at risk for the entire portfolio
6) Expected Shortfall (ES): Expected Shortfall (average value at risk) is expected return of the portfolio in the worst case
 

 

Alternative Margin Calculator

The Alternative Margin Calculator, accessed from the Setting menu and clicking on the Margin Mode (Exhibit 3), shows how the margin change will affect the overall margin requirement, once fully implemented.

Exhibit 3
 

 

Step 3: Selecting Margin Mode Settings

A pop-up window will appear (Exhibit 4) entitled Margin Mode Setting. You can use the drop-down menu in that window to change the margin calculations from Default (being the current policy) to the new title of the new Margin Setting (being the new margin policy). Once you have made a selection click on the OK button in that window.

Exhibit 4
 

Once the new margin mode setting is specified, the Risk Navigator Dashboard will automatically update to reflect your choice. You can toggle back and forth between the Margin Mode settings. Note that the current Margin Mode will be shown in the lower left hand corner of the Risk Navigator window (Exhibit 5).

Exhibit 5
 

 

Step 4: Add Positions

To add a position to the "What - If" portfolio, click on the green row titled "New" and then enter the underlying symbol (Exhibit 6), define the product type (Exhibit 7) and enter position quantity (Exhibit 8)

Exhibit 6
 

 

Exhibit 7

 

Exhibit 8

 

You can modify the positions to see how that changes the margin. After you altered your positions you will need to click on the recalculate icon () to the right of the margin numbers in order to have them update. Whenever that icon is present the margin numbers are not up-to-date with the content of the What-If Portfolio.

 

20-Minute Reconnect Grace Period, Unless Fingerprint/PIN Device Lock is Enabled

We recently introduced 30-hour Extended Trading access for mobile users (see the Android or iOS release notes).

For your protection, this feature requires that fingerprint or PIN/Pattern security be enabled on your mobile device. If not enabled, a 20-minute inactivity grace period applies, after which you are disconnected from your trading session and logged into Read-Only mode (which can be disabled), and must perform a full login for trading access.
 
While we remain diligent in our efforts to keep your account protected, we understand that good security is also about striking a balance between safety and convenience. If you feel strongly that this change adds undue burden to your trading setup - we'd like to hear from you.  Please vote on the Enhancement Request available through our Features Poll.

 

IB TWS for Mobile - Extended Trading Access

Overview: 

Get extended trading access in IB TWS for Mobile when you enabled fingerprint security on your device.

Once logged in to TWS for Mobile, all users have a 20-minute grace period during which they can take a call or use another app and still retain full access to their trading session without having to perform a full login (username/password + second factor authentication). After this grace period, users who have fingerprint security enabled on their device will enjoy secure trading for up to 30 hours without having to complete the full login.

 
When you enable a fingerprint to unlock your device, you are automatically enrolled for TWS Fingerprint authentication. This means that once you log in to TWS, you are able to securely re-access your trading session for up to 30 hours using just your fingerprint as authentication. If your fingerprint authentication fails or if you tap “Cancel,” you will be logged in to read-only mode. After 30 hours without using fingerprint authentication, you will be required to complete a full login. This means that if you access mobile TWS at least every 30 hours, you can maintain your trading access for an entire week without a full login. For added security, all mobile trading sessions are disconnected each Sunday at 1:00 AM local time, requiring you to complete a full login.
 
 
Users who use a PIN or pattern instead of a fingerprint to unlock their device will be able to re-access their trading session with this authentication for up to 12 hours before a full login is required.
 
 
If you do not want to enable the above forms of trading access and prefer to complete the full login process each time, disable “Secure reconnect” (Android) or "Auto-reconnect" (iOS) in IB TWS for Mobile Configuration.

How to adjust font size in TWS

Background: 

By default, Trader Workstation (TWS) is designed to display in a font size and style which can be read comfortably for the average user across various screen sizes and resolutions. With the advent of new technologies, there has been an exponential push to make monitors with higher display sizes and your layout may need to be further adjusted manually. This document serves to explain how to manually adjust the font size for TWS.

Procedure

To adjust font size throughout TWS:

  1. From the Anchor window, click the Font Size Adjustment icon.
  2. Check the button Adjust window & column widths to ensure all windows will resize automatically to keep the same font:window ratio. (If unchecked, only font size will change but window size will remain the same).
  3. Click the button Smaller or Larger until the font size is correct.
    Notice that the font size will change immediately as you click the button.
  4. Click the Font Size Adjustment icon   when done.

Note: It is possible that currently not all windows will be adjusted in the same way.

Предпросмотр ордера / Проверка маржи

Overview: 

Функция "Предпросмотр ордера/влияния на маржу" позволяет увидеть прогноз стоимости, комиссий и влияния на маржу, прежде чем Вы отправите ордер. Эта возможность доступна как в TWS, так и WebTrader, однако TWS предлагает более высокий уровень детализации.

Trader Workstation (TWS)

Функция TWS "Проверить маржу" позволяет рассмотреть влияние создаваемого ордера на маржу отдельно от уже имеющихся позиций, а также отображает новые маржинальные требования на основании предполагаемого исполнения ордера. Сообщаются ключевые показатели маржи, включая начальные и минимальные требования, а также общая сумма капитала с кредитом. Чтобы воспользоваться этой функцией, наведите курсор на строку ордера, щелкните по ней правой кнопкой мыши и выберите Проверить маржу в открывшемся меню.

Пример: Покупка фючерса 1 ES June 2012 @ 1387.25

 

В первом разделе предпросмотра ордера отображается бид, аск и последняя цена ценной бумаги.

 

Второй раздел содержит базовое описание ордера.

 

Раздел "Сумма" (Amount) отражает стоимость ордера, а также расчет применимых комиссий.

 

Раздел "Влияние на маржу " содержит следующие пункты;

Текущ. (Current) = Текущие показатели счета, не включающие отправляемый ордер.

Изменение (Change) = Влияние ордера при отправке, без учета каких-либо позиций на счете.

После завершения торгов (Post Trade) = Прогнозируемые показатели счета после отправки/исполнения ордера и его последующего включения в портфель.

  

WebTrader

Предпросмотр в WebTrader отображает только информацию, доступную в пункте "После завершения торгов" в TWS.

 

IEX Discretionary Peg Order

Background: 

IEX offers a Discretionary Peg™ (D-Peg™) order type which is a non-displayed order that is priced at either the National Best Bid (NBB for buys) or National Best Offer (NBO for sells). D-Peg™ orders passively rest on the book while seeking to access liquidity at a more aggressive price up to Midpoint of the NBBO, except when IEX determines that the quote is transitioning to less aggressive price

D-Peg™ combines elements of Midpoint Peg, Primary Peg, and traditional discretionary order types.
 
Information about slow and predictable changes in the NBBO are detected in IEX's Crumbling Quote Indicator and provides D-Peg™ orders with an instruction to stop seeking access to liquidity at a more aggressive price until the quote returns to a stable state.

 

How to Place a D-Peg Order

Please note, the IEX D-Peg order type is only available via the TWS version 961 and above. Instructions for entering this order type are outlined below:

Step 1

Enter a symbol and choose a directed quote, selecting IEX as the destination. Right click on the data line and select Trade followed by Order Ticket to open the Order Ticket window.

 

Step 2

Select the REL order type from the Order Type drop down menu.

 

Step 3

Click on the Miscellaneous tab (Misc.) and at the bottom there will be a checkbox for "Discretionary up to limit". Check this box. The price that you set in the Limit Price field will be used at the discretionary price on the order.

 

 

Step 4 

Hit Preview to view the Order Preview window.

 

 

For additional information concerning this order type, please review the following exchange website link: https://www.iextrading.com/trading/dpeg/

 

 

IBot Quick Guide

Availability

Available across all trading platforms.
 
Entering Commands
 
In the IBot entry field type your command (e.g., show the price of IBkr) then press Enter or Send.
 
Supported Commands
 
  • Quotes: “quote Interactive Brokers”, “show the price of Interactive Brokers”
    • IBot can also display fundamental information
    • Options: In cases where there is more than one option contract on the same exchange with the same expiry, strike and right, IBot will choose a contract as follows:
      • Choose smart over non-smart
      • Choose non-weekly contracts
      • Choose the contract with a standard multiplier
    • Partial Instrument Match: In cases where you leave out a parameter, IBot will try to identify the option contract with an educated guess based on the following logic:
      • If the underlying is missing, assume the last used underlying if one is available
      • If the type is missing, use a CALL.
      • If the expiration is missing, use the nearest month.
      • If the strike is missing, use the at-the-money strike.
  • Charts: “10 day 1 hour bar chart for Interactive Brokers”, “chart Interactive Brokers”
    • If you omit bar sizes or time ranges, IBot will display the most reasonable chart based on what you entered
  • Orders: “buy 100 shares of Interactive Brokers at market”, “sell 100 shares of IBKR at 40”, “close my Interactive Brokers position”, “close 10% of my long positions”
    • You MUST click the Submit button located within IBot to place the order
  • Trades: “show trades in Interactive Brokers”
  • Market Scanners: “top gaining US stocks", "biggest US market winners"
  • Market Depth Level II Data: “market depth for Interactive Brokers”, “level 2 for IBKR”
  • Option Chains: “option chains for Interactive Brokers”, “jan options for IBKR”
  • Calendar: "show portfolio events", "upcoming events for portfolio companies"
  • Your Account: “show my P&L”, “show my buying power”, “what is my net liquidation value”
  • Modify a Command: after creating an order, “change this order to market”
  • Help: get help with IBot by typing help before a type of command, “help with orders”, “help with chart”
  • Company Fundamentals: “show summary for Interactive Brokers”, “Return on Equity for IBKR”
  • Customer Service Information: “customer support”, “support”
    • Will include a link to the Contact Client Services page of our website
  • IBKR web site information: Use the terms Search: or Search for to return reference information from the IBKR web site. IBot will return the top matches with links to the relevant web page.
 
Non-Supported and Misunderstood Commands
 
In cases where you enter a non-supported command, or one that IBot can't accurately interpret, IBot will provide a best efforts result labeled with a "Potentially misunderstood" warning message and icon.
 
For a full guide on IBot, see the IBot Feature in Focus page. 

Snapshot Market Data

BACKGROUND

IBKR offers eligible clients the option of receiving a real-time price quote for a single instrument on a request basis. This service, referred to as “Snapshot Quotes” differs from the traditional quote services which offer continuous streaming and updates of real-time prices. Snapshot Quotes are offered as a low-cost alternative to clients who do not trade regularly and require data from specific exchanges1 when submitting an order. Additional details regarding this quote service is provided below. 

QUOTE COMPONENTS

The Snapshot quote includes the following data:        

  • Last price
  • Last size
  • Last exchange
  • Current bid-ask
  • Size for each of current bid-ask
  • Exchange for each of current bid-ask 

AVAILABLE SERVICES

Service Restrictions Price per Quote Request (USD)2
AMEX (Network B/CTA)   $0.01
ASX Total No access to ASX24.
Limited to Non-Professional subscribers
$0.03
Bolsa de Madrid   $0.03
Canadian Exchange Group (TSX/TSXV) Limited to Non-Professional subscribers who are not clients of IB Canada $0.03
CBOT Real-Time   $0.03
CME Real-Time   $0.03
COMEX Real-Time   $0.03
Eurex Core Limited to Non-Professional subscribers $0.03
Euronext Basic Limited to Non-Professional subscribers

Includes Euronext equities, indices, equity derivatives and index derivatives.
$0.03
German ETF's and Indices Limited to Non-Professional subscribers $0.03
Hong Kong (HKFE) Derivatives   $0.03
Hong Kong Securities Exchange (Stocks, Warrants, Bonds)   $0.03
Johannesburg Stock Exchange   $0.03
Montreal Derivatives Limited to Non-Professional subscribers $0.03
NASDAQ (Network C/UTP)   $0.01
Nordic Derivatives   $0.03
Nordic Equity   $0.03
NYMEX Real-Time   $0.03
NYSE (Network A/CTA)   $0.01
OPRA (US Options Exchanges)   $0.03
Shanghai Stock Exchange 5 Second Snapshot (via HKEx)   $0.03
Shenzhen Stock Exchange 3 Second Snapshot (via HKEx)   $0.03
SIX Swiss Exchange Limited to Non-Professional subscribers $0.03
Spot Market Germany (Frankfurt/Xetra) Limited to Non-Professional subscribers $0.03
STOXX Index Real-Time Data Limited to Non-Professional subscribers $0.03
Toronto Stk Exchange Limited to Non-Professional subscribers who are clients of IB Canada $0.03
TSX Venture Exchange Limited to Non-Professional subscribers who are clients of IB Canada $0.03
UK LSE (IOB) Equities   $0.03
UK LSE Equities   $0.03

1In accordance with regulatory requirements, IBKR no longer offers delayed quotation information on U.S. equities to Interactive Brokers LLC clients. All clients (IBKR Lite and Pro) have access to streaming real-time US equity quotes from Cboe One and IEX at no charge. Since this data does not include all markets, IB does not show this quote when entering parameters for an order in a US stock quote. IB customers are able to access a snapshot of real-time quote information for US stocks at the point of order entry.

2Cost is per snapshot quote request and will be assessed in the Base Currency equivalent, if not USD.

 

ELIGIBILITY

  • Accounts must maintain the Market Data Subscription Minimum and Maintenance Equity Balance Requirements in order to qualify for Snapshot quotes.
  • The Users must operate TWS Build 976.0 or higher to access Snapshot quote functionality.

 

PRICING DETAILS

  • Clients will receive $1.00 of snapshot quotes free of charge each month. Free snaphots may be applied to either U.S. or non-U.S. quote requests and charges will be applied, without additional notice, once the free allocation has been exhausted. Clients may review their snapshot usage as of the close of each business day via the Client Portal.
  • Quote fees are assessed on a lag basis, generally in the first week after the month in which Snapshot services were provided. Accounts which do not have sufficient cash or Equity With Loan Value to cover the monthly fee will be subject to position liquidations.
  • The monthly fee for snapshots will be capped at the related streaming real-time monthly service price. At which time the streaming quotes will be provided at no additional cost for the remainder of the month.  The switch to streaming quotes will take place at approximately 18:30 EST the following business day after reaching the snapshot threshold. At the close of the month, the streaming service will automatically terminate and the snapshot counter will reset. Each service is capped independently of the others and quote requests for one service cannot be counted towards the cap of another. See table below for sample details.
Service Price per Quote Request (USD) Non-Pro Subscriber Cap (Requests/Total Cost)2 Pro Subscriber Cap (Requests/Total Cost)3
AMEX (Network B/CTA) $0.01 150/$1.50 2,300/$23.00
NASDAQ (Network C/UTP) $0.01 150/$1.50 2,500/$25.00
NYSE (Network A/CTA) $0.01 150/$1.50 4,500/$45.00

 

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