Pair trading with TWS api

If I install the API will I be able to use Excel to determine the spread between two equities and more importantly trade that number? I have a feeling it won’t but just want to make sure.

 

You can send trades from excel to to IB.

 

Why do you think so?
IB's API enables you to write your own software in Excel to monitor prices and create trades.

 

But can I send a spread of, say, 3 points for areas of legging with buy and sell orders?

 

I am not familiar with trading options. But to IB each order is an independent thing, independent of any other order. So I would believe that any set of orders would be fine, as long as your account has the capital for it.

 

Real-time spreads priced yes, up to a 250ms 'snapshot' or even real-time "on tick event" data and maybe even faster than that. If you are saying , "can I have algo logic (in Excel) that posts orders and sets limits and monitors open trades" then that is much more advanced.

 

The built in “merger arb” or “pairs trader” algos might do this without a separate API

https://ibkrguides.com/tws/usersguidebook/specializedorderentry/merger_arbitrage_window.htm

 

If you were a Python developer, I'd hand over some code I wrote to trade exchange-listed spreads and intermarket spreads.

 

How much would it cost me to hire a programmer to do this, remotely I presume.

 

Download the separate IB API and modify the included example spreadsheet which sends orders to IB.