All my hidden option orders are showing up on TWS with a dark blue status (vs green for stocks) in the activity window. Are hidden orders permissible/allowed by the exchanges? will they get filled if status is dark blue? Thanks
No, they aren’t supported by exchanges. IB will usually send them to an exchange after they’re marketable, meaning after your price matches a bid or ask. Though it’s possible that IB may be doing a little extra work in the background, like trying to submit them periodically to see if an MM may match it. Actually that wouldn’t keep those orders hidden, but it’s just an example that there may be something else about hidden orders that we don’t know. (never asked IB about this but you could)
Yes, they are supported by a number of exchanges. They are live on some smart routers of the consolidators and made available to customers of the brokers that participate in the routing agreement. Traditionally IB has not been a participant. You might want to ask them. Look at the exchange filing(s). They work like this - assume a broker cuts a routing deal with SIG. SIG may show 10 up for the public feed but actually offer 20 up for the houses they have routing deal with. They have been around for the better part of a decade.
I currently do this via IB using displayed qty, basically not showing the full qty of my order, but still having to show some qty. Is this what you're referring to?
Is your non displayed quantity getting filled? Depending on the total size and if your broker is a participant.
Yes, because once the displayed qty is filled then the hidden qty gets shifted back to the displayed qty, so the displayed qty is always there. I don't recall whether the hidden part could get filled immediately as well, as I haven't done this in a while. You could try it and see how the hidden qty gets filled. But you can't just hide full orders.