Can you trade ES/NQ with IB's quotes or are they no good? This would be for using them in Quotetracker. And does IB still make you quit trading the futures 10 minutes before 4pm like they used to? And if so, then why?
IMO IB offers the fastest quotes, you don't have to quit at 3.45 if your account is funded as required (margin as for 24-hour trading)
I agree with Ditch. I have compared IB's quotes to BridgeStation & NexTrend and IB is usually on par or a bit ahead.
IB is always faster than Qcharts--but that's not saying much. Their quotes have been very reliable. I believe they close you out early when you can't meet the 24 hour hold margin, but otherwise they don't care.
I've been using IB and am very happy with it. But I wouldn't use QT. You might be happier with Sierra. --Db
I thought that might be where you were going (IB as data feed). If I remember correctly IB is not truely streaming but rather spurts. (Don't know the technicals). I have IB/sierra and I have Qcharts and I disagree with ddefina. I have not noticed a big enough lag with Qcharts that I cannot scalp the ES. However with IB/and any software - you must always be connected to IB, any IB disconnect messes up intraday charts. Sierra does have methods of getting the data but then it is a little to late for intraday. I have run IB/sierra and Qcharts side by side and the bars rarely match, this does not seem to be a data issue but a time issue - one bar closing a tick higher or lower, or opening one tick off. For me, for intraday trading, I have found that I could use either one successfully, but that using Qcharts the disconnect dilema is not there. Just my thoughts after using it. Make 'em pretty, Chris
My experience was just the opposite. QCharts would simply disappear, sometimes for only a few seconds, sometimes for several minutes. IB sometimes disconnects as well, but not nearly as often as QCharts. --Db
I've been using IB along with Esignal for about 3 months now and as much as I like Esignal for charting, I have to admit that I've found IB's quotes to be more reliable, when there is a big move and one lags behind, its usually Esignal.