Creating Algo for MORE Intraday Trades

[Trader Nomad]

I'm sorry, but all this things you can do pre-market.
1. Bid/Ask spread is too wide: if you trade high volume stocks only, this shouldn't be an issue.
2. Stock is too volatile: if you have a way to know it intraday, you can do the same pre-market. Or at least use yesterday vol as rough estimate.
3. Question: what does FT trader mean?

1. There are plenty of high volume S&P 500 stocks that still have wide spreads in the morning. Depending on news, if there's a huge gap up or down, etc. I would give a similar answer to point 2.

3. Full time, meaning this is what I do for a living.

edit: the main point of the thread and issue I'm having is to be able to enter multiple preselected stocks if they meet the criteria of a running calculation. I can't run this calculation in my head and enter orders for 5+ different stocks and monitor them at the same time.

 

[Trader Nomad]

It is worth downloading the template, getting connected to TWS (there are instructions online at IB), and seeing if it can work for you.

I wouldn't be throwing 100 symbols at it with complex orders, but it sounds like it might serve your needs. The template is quite complex, but use what you need, and toss the rest. It is a good starting point. Good luck.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out tonight.

 

[Trader Nomad]

I recommend Multicharts with IB API. I think it's a great combo. The hardest part is getting it coded right

Thanks. Any pros and cons vs. Python? Of the research I've done lately, it looks like Python is fairly popular to use for making algos. Looks a bit overwhelming at first for a noobie such as myself though.

 

[profitlocker]

Multicharts utilizes Powerlanguage (Easylanguage) which is specifically made for trading. Unless you're trying to scalp with low latency requirements, Powerlanguage should be able to execute your orders with less lines of code than Python.

 

[Trader Nomad]

Multicharts utilizes Powerlanguage (Easylanguage) which is specifically made for trading. Unless you're trying to scalp with low latency requirements, Powerlanguage should be able to execute your orders with less lines of code than Python.

The strategy doesn't depend on speed and I wouldn't consider it scalping. Just need automated bracket orders to go off if the criteria is met. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll be checking MultiCharts out tonight.

 

[d08]

Thanks Lindq,

IB seems to have not so good things to say about DDE: "DDE Limited; uses obsolete technologies; lower performance. Windows only Yes (limited functionality)"

Any credence to this? I'm familiar with excel but not using it to program. I like the idea of starting on a platform I have some experience with though.

Because if you update any component (IB TWS, IB API, Excel), it's likely to break. It always gave me errors after even minor updates. Also, it sometimes fails to submit orders for reasons I never could figure out. ActiveX Excel sheet is better but still not as good as the real thing (C++, java, python etc).

 

[Trader Nomad]

Because if you update any component (IB TWS, IB API, Excel), it's likely to break. It always gave me errors after even minor updates. Also, it sometimes fails to submit orders for reasons I never could figure out. ActiveX Excel sheet is better but still not as good as the real thing (C++, java, python etc).

Good to know, thanks for sharing =)

 

[2rosy]

You're a FT trader for 5 years. If that means you make money and value you're time just hire someone to write it.

 

[Trader Nomad]

You're a FT trader for 5 years. If that means you make money and value you're time just hire someone to write it.

If it was just the money, I wouldn't think twice. The main issue is "after-sale support" - how do I know the dev will be around if there are bugs or it doesn't work anymore as a result of an update. There are other issues as well that have been discussed at length on the forums. Not out of the question though. Thanks for the imput.

 

[Simples]

Wondering how much discretion goes into your trading decision, are you mechanically following your own rules or are there room for interpretation beyond spread, volatility, etc? Point is a trading bot will take all the signals, even "stupid ones", thus applying murphys law to the nth power, not reduce risk. This unless your backtesting includes everything for execution, avoids hindsight biases and can be followed 100% mechanically. Making such systems takes alot of experience both with programming and trading the market. One will go through eureka moments thinking youve cracked it, then discover the parts that doesnt work. This can go on for years. Id recommend to start simple and build from there. Excel is as simple as you can get it, but still very flexible. When your needs exceed excel, maybe python is achievable after experience with excel. Best to do it yourself if you can, otherwise need a partner that wont abandon you.