Interactive Brokers and Options trading in Australia

[Seneca60BC]

Hi All

Anyone here use IB to trade options in the aussie market. If so what feedback do you have ? The rates seem quite appealing, but before I sign up Id like to know what your thoughts are with options trading via IB.

Cheers!

 

[chops_a_must]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Hi All

Anyone here use IB to trade options in the aussie market. If so what feedback do you have ? The rates seem quite appealing, but before I sign up Id like to know what your thoughts are with options trading via IB.

Cheers!

You'll end up in the US.

You'll know why as soon as you get into it.

 

[mazzatelli1000]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Hi All

Anyone here use IB to trade options in the aussie market. If so what feedback do you have ? The rates seem quite appealing, but before I sign up Id like to know what your thoughts are with options trading via IB.

Cheers!

You will have to subscribe to Oz Data to see option prices and information which is a cool $35 a month.

But as chops has alluded - the US options market is much more attractive. Plus all US market data is free on IB. I have been tampering with Korean and Hong Kong options markets which are interesting, but still a large learning curve at the moment, if you are interested in keeping with our time zone. The US will mean late night to early morning hours.

 

[Seneca60BC]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Oh damn!! $35 a month! I thought I could use etrade to look up the quotes and then place an order via IB? I guess this will not work?

Yea USA wont work as I need to sleep to go to work the next day.

 

[mazzatelli1000]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Oh damn!! $35 a month! I thought I could use etrade to look up the quotes and then place an order via IB? I guess this will not work?

Yea USA wont work as I need to sleep to go to work the next day.

Yes you can use E*Trade for your quote basis and place orders via IB. Should be no problem at all.

In answering your original question regarding using IB as an option broker, the rates and execution are good. No problems at all. Other than that nothing exciting really.

Enjoy

 

[Seneca60BC]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Hi Mazz

If I dont subscribe to the live datafeed, will I get at least the latest BID / ASK on the Options Trader screen for australian options ?

Thanks!

 

[elbee]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

No!

 

[mazzatelli1000]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Hi Mazz

If I dont subscribe to the live datafeed, will I get at least the latest BID / ASK on the Options Trader screen for australian options ?

Thanks!

Hey sorry, forgot to come back to this

nuttin in IB - just a warning that you shouldn't trade blindly
if you want to trade option spreads in Australia - try optionsxpress australia and if you're desperate E*Trade

 

[Seneca60BC]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Oh darn! so it looks like I will have to subscribe to the live datafeed and cop the $37 fee every month?

Thanks!

 

[Grinder]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Seneca,you can the bid/ask of the Oz market at OX by opening an account. It wont cost you anything.

 

[Seneca60BC]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Seneca,you can the bid/ask of the Oz market at OX by opening an account. It wont cost you anything.

Ok - does that mean I dont have to deposit any funds with Options Xpress to open an account ?

 

[Grinder]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

I can't remmember if i had to deposit or not at the time, you can give them a call & find out. Their Oz market data is basically bid/ask quotes, not like what they offer for the US markets, which you don't need anyways.

 

[sails]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

I have re-actived the account with IB I need a back up broker now that OX has gone for Oz options and like the idea of being able to test ideas with small quantities without breaking the bank with fees. Hopefully better luck this time around.

Last time I got into strife when closing a calendar spread which should have been for a credit, but it somehow went through as a debit which meant I paid twice for something I no longer owned. Still mystified what happened about the NBBO.

Can't get the simulated trading to work properly, so have very carefully raised an order for a dummy one lot calendar spread in the live account (being ever so careful not to transmit )

I set this order up in combo trader (see pic below) - everything seems above board. The description seems correct (see below). The combo shows up in the order management page as it should, except for negative prices.

I click on "order ticket" - and the results are below. Have highlighted the default price (I haven't changed it) and it shows a negative price which I believe means buying for a credit The order preview page shows the same negative price (not shown). The negative price changes the nature of the trade as I learned the hard way last time.

Is this normal for TWS to change what should be a positive price (eg I am paying to buy a calendar here)??

Wayne, Mazza - anyone else experienced with TWS options combo orders???? What am I doing wrong??

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[sails]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Went into the demo and entered a US BHP calendar spread (see below) and it defaults correctly to a positive limit price. I used exactly the same order entry procedure as I did earlier for the Aus order. Very puzzling why the Aus calendars default to negative pricing.

Does anyone else have IB Aus options enabled - would you mind putting in a dummy order for a basic calendar spread using Aus options to see if it automatically defaults to negative prices? (just don't transmit it!) - would like to know if it's just me.

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[cutz]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Hi Sails,

I’ve been observing your posts with interest and today I actually tried to put in a dummy calendar as you had it laid out just to satisfy my curiosity but I didn’t get past the first page, I got a message saying exchange doesn’t recognize spread, (or words to that effect) did it twice then I gave up, I tried again tonight and I got past the first screen and added the spread to the quote panel but as the market was closed there was nil pricing.

I'll check it out again tomorrow morning.

Because I’m still on training wheels I enter my spreads one leg at a time but i think it's time to step up.

 

[mazzatelli1000]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

I click on "order ticket" - and the results are below. Have highlighted the default price (I haven't changed it) and it shows a negative price which I believe means buying for a credit The order preview page shows the same negative price (not shown). The negative price changes the nature of the trade as I learned the hard way last time.

Is this normal for TWS to change what should be a positive price (eg I am paying to buy a calendar here)??

sails
Judging by your screenshots - it looks like you have done everything right, so it is a bit odd. Maybe the option gods are smiling upon you and giving you a calendar for free and then some

I don't have ASX data so can't check for you

Just out of curiosity - is that the latest version of TWS?

 

[bunyip]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Yea USA wont work as I need to sleep to go to work the next day.

That shouldn't be a problem. Work from daily charts, analyse your US charts after work. Place an order to buy an option at your selected price, or place a contingent order to buy an option if the stock trades at your nominated price.
Go to bed at your normal time, get up next morning at your normal time. No need to do without your sleep or disrupt your normal routine.

 

[wayneL]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Went into the demo and entered a US BHP calendar spread (see below) and it defaults correctly to a positive limit price. I used exactly the same order entry procedure as I did earlier for the Aus order. Very puzzling why the Aus calendars default to negative pricing.

Does anyone else have IB Aus options enabled - would you mind putting in a dummy order for a basic calendar spread using Aus options to see if it automatically defaults to negative prices? (just don't transmit it!) - would like to know if it's just me.

Any help would be much appreciated

Hmmm

I can't see what you've done wrong, it all looks right

Do you do your combo orders from the option trader window?

I do my combo orders in the main TWS window instead. This gives you a live bid ask for the spread. I've done one on the closest NYSE version of your spread on BHP \/

Then you can just click on the spread bid or ask quote to enter your order

 

[sails]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Hi Sails,

I’ve been observing your posts with interest and today I actually tried to put in a dummy calendar as you had it laid out just to satisfy my curiosity but I didn’t get past the first page, I got a message saying exchange doesn’t recognize spread, (or words to that effect) did it twice then I gave up, I tried again tonight and I got past the first screen and added the spread to the quote panel but as the market was closed there was nil pricing.

I'll check it out again tomorrow morning.

Because I’m still on training wheels I enter my spreads one leg at a time but i think it's time to step up.

Thanks Cutz - be interesting to see what you get when the market starts trading. Unlikely to get option prices for the first half hour or more - as I'm sure you've found out!

Hopefully my dilema will help your learning curve along - as long as I'm not leading you astray here.

Appreciate you having a look to see what you come up with.

sails
Judging by your screenshots - it looks like you have done everything right, so it is a bit odd. Maybe the option gods are smiling upon you and giving you a calendar for free and then some

I don't have ASX data so can't check for you

Just out of curiosity - is that the latest version of TWS?

LOL Mazza - MMs disguised as option gods!! Unfortunately they wouldn't give money away - but they were as quick as lightening to take it when I was selling with a negative price. It was unbelievable - TWS kept switching everything around in the order. I hadn't learnt about the effect of negative pricing at that stage, and as this was the first spread I closed out with TWS, I assumed the negative price was the way TWS presented the order as I finally had everything else appearing to be correct. That mouse click cost around $3K.

Looks like TWS is still doing the same thing since that happened approx 15-16months ago. Hopefully posting here might help prevent other Aus option traders from getting burnt in the same way.

Yes, I believe it is the latest version of TWS - just installed in the last few days and I believe it automatically checks for new versions each time I log in.

Hmmm

I can't see what you've done wrong, it all looks right

Do you do your combo orders from the option trader window?

I do my combo orders in the main TWS window instead. This gives you a live bid ask for the spread. I've done one on the closest NYSE version of your spread on BHP \/

Then you can just click on the spread bid or ask quote to enter your order

Thanks Wayne - yes I generated the combo from the main TWS window.

The negative bid/ask quotes are very annoying. I understand how they work (now ) but there is enough to keep the mind busy with options trades to be unnecessarily trying to transpose this as well. If you look at the top right hand corner of the first order ticket I posted, you will see what I mean by the negative bid/ask quotes for the Aus combo.

And it is simply so dangerous when the order ticket defaults to the same negative price especially when selling.

 

[cutz]

Re: Interactive Brokers and Options trading in OZ

Hi Sails,

I’ve checked out that calendar spread and I’m getting minus 1.2 on the bid and minus 0.9 on the ask, clicking on both bid and ask to initiate orders also puts a minus in front of the default prices (both buy and sell).

I also set up Jan 30/25 put vertical spread and that’s showing 0.875 on the bid and 1.025 on the ask, no minus symbols, also initiating a buy and sell orders on the vertical spread does not place a minus in front of the default price.

I’m not sure what’s going on with the calendar and the minus symbols let us know how you go.