GTC limit order on IB platform cannot execute outside RTH?

I am using Interactive Brokers TWS platform.

I have 1 ES futures contract. I want to place a profit-target GTC sell limit on this ES contract. However, the option "allow order to be filled outside of regular trading hours" is disabled for limit orders. Does this mean ES futures contract limit orders cannot be filled outside of RTH? This sounds like a big risk if ES gaps down on opening of RTH.

 

This is a limit for IB. Move your futures trading to a dedicated Futures FCM and you will find there is no "outside RTH." There is just CME trading hours.
http://help.cqg.com/qtrader/#!Documents/ordertypessupported.htm

 

AFAIK, all hours when futures are traded are trading hours, so you can always take profit. Only for stop-loss orders IB allows you to select “trading hours” to prevent potential losses during “non-liquid hours”.
https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=22063

Though contact IB to be sure.

 

I'm old, so I had to look up AFAIK!

 

This makes sense. I just verified through paper trading in the paper account. I presume the option "allow order to be filled outside of RTH" applies only for stop-loss orders because trading tends to be more illiquid outside RTH.

 

Does this look illiquid to you:

 

Then why not avoid the problem entirely by placing it as a day order? If you place a day order in at 6PM ET, it will stay there until 5PM ET the following calendar day, which is the same trading day. It is a trading day order. A GTC order is a lazy way of not having to re-enter your orders on each new trading day in futures, which begin at 6PM ET each day (or evening) for the majors.

As OMM mentioned, the whole RTH/ETH thing doesn't apply to futures. That's all stocks and options and stuff. Try to not get confused with that.

 

You may want to contact IB about this. I was under the impression that they had a measure in place to avoid market orders being filled at disadvantageous prices during illiquid trading hours. But thought that this did not apply to limit orders.

 

Robert, to me you seem disingenuous with your reply trying to get business your way. You're showing the ES front month but there are many months and many other future contracts that are not liquid over night. The OP can select the outside of real time hours and get his orders stops (and certainly native ones) filled overnight.

 

I did not suggest he move to Lightspeed. I suggest a futures broker, with a futures platfrom that treats futures like future's not like other asset classes. This would be my opinion as a trader, not just as a salesperson.

To be fair, there are times I suggest "we" might offer a better solution in an attempt to get leads. This was not one of those cases.