Starting Out - Tools of the Trade

[cascot]

I am looking to obtain some charting software, and also a realtime feed which should include the following:

- FTSE-100 Index
- FTSE-100 Futures
- Dow Jones Industrial Average
- Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures

I have been looking at SierraChart.com for charting software (as it seems decent and is cheap, so appeals as a good starter option), but would this be okay for Futures?

For realtime data I am looking at InteractiveBrokers.com. They offer LSE Level I+ (10 pounds), LIFFE Level I (20 pounds), LIFFE Level II (25 pounds), and US Securities & Commodities Bundle (Includes all Stock, Options and Futures exchanges) (10 USD). Are the IB feeds any good?

In order to obtain the data I list above, which of these packages do I need? I believe the only difference between LIFFE Level I and II is that II includes the full order book. Would getting level II cost 20 + 25 = 45 per month?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

 

[donaldduke]

I cant help you with chart packages since i dont trade off charts.

The IB feed is good, sometimes they miss spikes though but that shouldnt be a problem..

Are you sure you want to trade FTSE futures?
The FTSE can be making a nice up or down trend and then reverse on the spot depending on
a big movement in the premarket US futures.

Also FTSE futures arent exactly the most liquid market either.

Consider trading a Stock Index and a Currency so you are less correlated.

 

[cascot]

Are you sure you want to trade FTSE futures?
The FTSE can be making a nice up or down trend and then reverse on the spot depending on
a big movement in the premarket US futures.

I don't intend to trade FTSE futures, at least not for now.

I want to have them in addition to the underlying index in order to have the most complete picture and the best information available in my attempts to predict movements in the FTSE-100.

My intention is to start out by trading the FTSE Intradays on Betfair. I realise the liquidity, or lack of it, could be a major stumbling block.

 

[rossored]

The IB / Sierra charts combination is fine. As you say, cheap as chips and does the job - what more do you need? Personally I found the IB feed far more reliable than MyTrack when I was using them - the only downside is there is no backfill on the data, so if you're not connected, you dont get any charts - hence, might be worth considering an EOD feed from MyTrack rather than a realtime subscription.

Oh - and the IB DJIA feed is a bit "patchy" sometimes, but the futures (I presume you are talking eCBOT mini Dow) is spot on.

 

[gollum]

Hi, I am a newbie this is my first post.. This thread is quite useful to me as I am just starting to test IB software but not sure if this is right way to go.. I think i want to start off by trading Dow Indu & spot currencies (cable, EUR/USD).. I am just starting to test sierrachart as well..
I have used GFT forex software before but my experience is limited.
do you think its possible to manage with just IB, SierraChart and EOD feed from MyTrack when starting out..?

One other thing , just wanted to know when i do actually trade that my cash is safe, I mean if there is a small chance a company goes bankrupt how can i check my cash is safe..
Should i stick with IB or is it really just a matter of trying demo's of everything & seeing what u prefer..

Thanks to everyone looking in & willing to reply.. This is truly a great site .....

 

[Roberto]

do you think its possible to manage with just IB, SierraChart and EOD feed from MyTrack when starting out..?

Hi and welcome. I'd think so, yes. But may I suggest something else (instead of Sierra and MyTrack) which you might want to look at? www.ProRealTime.com . I switched to this a couple of months ago and am very pleased with it. It excludes the FTSE, but if you want the Dow and Currencies, their "indices and currencies package" seems brilliant for about £30 per month. It has back-testing facilties, design-your-own-indicator gadgets and all sorts of nice toys, too. Their EOD service (if that's all you want from them) is FREE, and they do a week's trial on anything else without asking for credit-card details.

 

[gollum]

Hi Roberto, and thanks. Have logged in and on first inspection easy to use..
Does anyone else have comments on pro realtime.?

This software selection does seem to be taking me a lot of time though. Is there anyone out there who can suggest a combination so i can demo trade with streaming delayed prices for FREE..? I just want to start learning without paying up front as I will have to take time out to do some upgrade work on my pc i suspect..

same again, Dow industrial Av & currencies with FTSE thrown in ..
I want to trade from day to day holding overnight if necessary. Swing trading I believe!!

Am i asking too much.?
...

 

[zigglewigler]

I think i want to start off by trading Dow Indu & spot currencies (cable, EUR/USD).. ... This is truly a great site .....

Don't trade the Dow, trade SP500 instead, the range to spread ratio is better on the SP, for basically the same moves.

Yes, it is a great site. Wish I'd known about it when I started!

 

[Battler]

Hi Roberto, and thanks. Have logged in and on first inspection easy to use..
Does anyone else have comments on pro realtime.?

This software selection does seem to be taking me a lot of time though. Is there anyone out there who can suggest a combination so i can demo trade with streaming delayed prices for FREE..? I just want to start learning without paying up front as I will have to take time out to do some upgrade work on my pc i suspect..

same again, Dow industrial Av & currencies with FTSE thrown in ..
I want to trade from day to day holding overnight if necessary. Swing trading I believe!!

Am i asking too much.?
...

Try AmiBroker trailware and use Lycos free Intraday andEOD feed.

 

[Roberto]

Does anyone else have comments on pro realtime.?

They have ... somewhere ... because I originally investigated it following recommendations from others here. You could try a search(?) ...

Is there anyone out there who can suggest a combination so i can demo trade with streaming delayed prices for FREE..?

I'm not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for, but you can get real-time prices and charts free, without any delay, from the UK Yahoo pages. Major indices ... not forex; and not streaming: you have to click on "refresh" frequently to "do your own streaming". Not ideal, but real-time and free, anyway, and many TA parameters available if you want them. Alternatively, CapitalSpreads have very good charts on their site and you can open a "play account" without real money. I think theirs are probably 15 minutes delayed, but they include a lot more.

Am i asking too much.?

It seems probably not, and anyway it's always worth asking.

 

[gollum]

"""trade SP500 instead, the range to spread ratio is better """"
Thanks Zigglewigler I will investigate.. I beleieve by range you mean the highs and lows for each day are more extreme(leading to more profit) .. And the spread being smaller with most brokers(leading to more profit).....

thanks also to Battler & Roberto for their much appreciated comments.........

1 other thing- Have downloaded Chartmans's TA "day trading the dow jones" but Figure 10 appears for a fraction of a second before just displaying a red cross..!! Anyone else get that..?

 

[Roberto]

Have downloaded Chartmans's TA "day trading the dow jones" but Figure 10 appears for a fraction of a second before just displaying a red cross..!! Anyone else get that..?

If you look further on in the same thread you'll see that someone (Newtron Bomb?) has very kindly posted a PDF version of the same document, and you should have no difficulty downloading, saving or printing that version, including all the figures, as long as you have the Adobe pdf reader (free).

 

[blackcab]

Is anyone trading futures only using free live Web charts like futuresource.com - i.e. no separate data feed? What are the reasons not to do this?

 

[NIBOT1]

I'm spreadbetting dow and footsie indices intraday and futures using free charts at Bigcharts.com and FT.com

 

[mike8man]

Does anybody know of charting software that will display ftse100 options graphs. Not just strangles or straddles but will allow additional legs to be added?

 

[rossored]

Congrats to both previous posters on your attempts to revive a 14 year old thread