huge gap between last trades and bid/ask?

[svalik]

I've just started paper money trading Nikkei 225 futures on ThinkorSwim... and i notice that there's often a big gap between the bid/ask and market. Say im seeing bid/ask at 9000/9005, but my chart would update the last trades at say 9030. This is really confusing for me... can someone explain the existence of this huge gap?

 

[TheBramble]

It's called a broker's holiday.

 

[Martinghoul]

Don't look at the last trade px and you'll stop worrying about it.

 

[svalik]

Don't look at the last trade px and you'll stop worrying about it.

really? what does the gap mean though

 

[TheBramble]

It means that somebody is making money and it's not you.

What do you think your broker does when you make a trade at his price when his price is away from the market?

(That's assuming he needs to go flat in the first place...LOL)

 

[svalik]

would you care to elaborate...

 

[TheBramble]

I thought I just did?

 

[svalik]

I thought I just did?

hmm care to elaborate on what you meant by broker making money and im not etc? so when i place a limit order... does it get filled according to last trade or market? this gap is just very confusing to me... and im just trying to make sense of what im looking at here

 

[Rhody Trader]

I've just started paper money trading Nikkei 225 futures on ThinkorSwim... and i notice that there's often a big gap between the bid/ask and market. Say im seeing bid/ask at 9000/9005, but my chart would update the last trades at say 9030. This is really confusing for me... can someone explain the existence of this huge gap?

The bid/ask is the market. The last traded price is not. The bid/ask is where you can do business now. The last traded price is exactly that - where the last transaction was done. In a thinly traded market like the NIKKEI is outside Japanese hours there may be considerable time between trades during which time the market (bid/ask) is nevertheless moving to reflect developments.

 

[TheBramble]

svalik, my apologies. I read your post as there being a gap between the market prices quoted and the prices your broker was quoting you for that same instrument.