was short 9 contracts HSI last night right before the close- i was trading in 3 contract increments. closed it with 3 different trades, the last closing trade being about 20 seconds before the close- or so i thought. IB booktrader still showed me short 3 contracts with no pending orders. i do NOT, EVER, hold positions overnight. so, confused, but having to relying on this data, i placed another trade to buy 3 contracts to go flat. the trade was executed and booktrader showed me as flat. until......... a few seconds later, AFTER THE CLOSE, it then changes to show me long 3 contracts. i immediately called IB Europe- basically tough shit. it's tough to hedge a HSI position, especially since the STW (Taiwan) has not moved with the pack lately due to elections). bottom line, i'm fucked. HSI could open up down 1000 point easy tonight= $20,000 loss due to fucked up data. posting this mainly to vent, as i've already smashed my keyboard into a million pieces. losing $ due to my trading mistakes is one thing (as it happens, last night was my biggest loss ever BEFORE any of this shit), but relying on faulty data and getting fucked is pretty hard to swallow...
you have no recourse whatsoever.You are 100% liable,not IB. did you read the fine print when you opened your account? or did you just scroll down and sign your name without reading the documents?
Not clear what the error was on IBs part. Did it show you filled or not on the last short before you bought an extra 3
in booktrader it showed no open orders and me still short 3 contracts with the P&L section of booktrader showing the running P&L. with 10 seconds to make a decision, i had to go with what i saw and, based on that, i had to buy another 3 contracts to go flat. when i bought the 3 it showed me as flat/P&L section of booktrader no longer showed numbers, i said 'whew, that was close' (execution was 6 seconds before the close). then, a few seconds later, the blue 3 popped up (blue means long)- i said 'wtf', called IB in Europe and began contemplating just how much $ this will cost me. i jsut spoke with IB here int eh US and they're looking into it to see if they had any data lags- i'm not holding my breath. you all can play along @ home- every 100 point drop in teh HSI will cost me $2000. 1000 point opening gaps are common in the HSI.
Well, I think your only recourse is to videotape your reactions as it continues to drop and then post it on the web for all to see. Otherwise it didn't happen.
Now you know, Closing a dangerous position only a few seconds before the market halts, is probably not the smartest act in the world. We've all done it, but it's not recommended.
Slightly offtopic - anyone know why the HSI and a few other Asian futures contracts aren't available 24 hours a day yet? It's 2008..
HSI is a nut job under the best of conditions. You want to trade it with a 1 lot showing every 200 points?