A unique trading tool designed to help traders visualize and place orders based on market depth and order flow. DepthFinder TradingApp

Transcription

1 A unique trading tool designed to help traders visualize and place orders based on market depth and order flow. DepthFinder TradingApp

2 DepthFinder Trading App for TradeStation Table of Contents Introduction to the DepthFinder Trading App... 3 DepthFinder Trading App Overview... 4 Main Market Depth Section... 4 Order Status Section... 5 TradeBar Section... 7 DepthFinder Trading App Inputs... 9 Depth Levels... 9 Quantity Defaults... 9 Disclaimers Updated 11/27/13 2 DepthFinder User Guide

3 Introduction to the DepthFinder Trading App Thank you for purchasing the DepthFinder Trading App for TradeStation. All PowerZone Trading tools are designed to be fast, reliable and perform in volatile intraday markets. If you are having difficulties using any of our trading tools, please contact us so we may be of assistance. It is our hope that the DepthFinder Trading App will help you spot unique opportunities in the markets, improve your order entry experience, and become a more consistent trader. The DepthFinder Trading App is designed to analyze market depth for up to 10 price levels of buyers and sellers (20 total price levels). Traders can choose specific depth levels and place trades directly from within the app. Depth bars for each level are graphically displayed in real-time along with the total number and percentage of buyers versus sellers. This allows traders to quickly visualize order flow and possible market depth imbalances that can lead to profitable trading opportunities. In addition to aggregate market depth information, the main DepthFinder window displays position data, highlights the price level(s) containing the largest volume and includes a trade bar that allows precise order entry using limit orders based on visible market depth. Once a buy or sell limit order is placed from within the app, the specific order price remains highlighted until it is filled. This allows limit orders to be tracked (or canceled) as price and depth levels change. A SnapShot button allows a sub window to display key technical and fundamental information about the symbol, and a QuickChart button shows a daily summary chart. These features help minimize the keystrokes needed to gain situational awareness in the markets. WARNING: It is strongly recommend that you test the order entry features of the DepthFinder Trading App on a simulated account prior to real trading. Traders who wish to use the DepthFinder Trading App for analysis purposes only can disable the trade buttons by checking the "Safety" checkbox. PowerZone Trading, LLC assumes no responsibility or liability from gains or losses that occur while using this product. 3 DepthFinder User Guide

4 DepthFinder Trading App Overview Once users have subscribed to the DepthFinder Trading App on the TradeStation TradingApp Store ( opening the DepthFinder Trading App is easy...click on the Trading App tab along the left edge of the TradeStation desktop and choose "DepthFinder" from the list. In the main TradeStation TradingApp menu, you may choose to drag it to the top of the list for easier reference. Choose DepthFinder from the list of available Trading Apps Main Market Depth Section The Main Market Depth Display is divided in half and shows buyers on the left side (in blue) and sellers on the right (in red). The blue and red bars represent the number of buyers and sellers, respectively, that are lined up at each price level. The top blue bar is the inside bid, and the top red bar is the inside ask. The Update buttons, which appear next to each price level on both sides of the Market Depth Display beneath the Lmt Price headings, serve two functions. First, the Update button that is next to the price level with the most orders lined up will be highlighted in yellow. This makes it easy to quickly identify the price that currently has the most bids or offers. Second, the Update buttons allow traders to set a particular price level as the Limit Order price. To set a Limit Order price, click the Update button next to the desired price level. The Limit Price automatically appears in the Limit Price box in the TradeBar Section of the app, and traders can then click the BUY Limit or SELL Limit order entry button to place a trade at that price level. Next to the Update buttons are columns for Bid Price (on the Buyers side) and Ask Price (on the Sellers side). These show the prices at each market depth level. Note that the BID prices decrease as they move away from the inside bid; the ASK prices increase as they move away from the inside ask. If you have an active, unfilled limit order, a blue highlight will appear at the BUY limit order price; a red highlight will appear at the SELL limit order price. 4 DepthFinder User Guide

5 Yellow Update button shows largest size Shaded price shows an active unfilled limit order: blue = buy order red = sell order Update buttons will set the level price as the Limit Order Price Blue Bars show size of sell orders, top bar is inside bid Red Bars show size of sell orders, top bar is inside ask Checkbox to disable trade buttons Total and percentage of all Buy orders in the market Total and percentage of all Sell orders in the market The Bid Size column, which appears on the Buyers side of the display, shows the number of shares currently available at each specified bid price. The Ask Size column, which appears on the Sellers side, shows the number of shares currently available at each ask price. At the very center of the display is the Level column, which shows the different market depth levels, with Level 1 at the top (representing the inside bid and ask). The boxes that appear at the bottom of the Market Depth Section show information about the total number of orders in the market. The Total Buyers box indicates the total number of Buy orders in the market and the percentage of all orders that figure represents. The Total Sellers box shows the total number of Sell orders in the market and the percentage of all order that number represents. The two percentages will always add up to 100. The lower left-hand corner of the Market Depth Section has a checkbox that allows you to disable the trade buttons. Check the Safety box to disable the trade buttons; uncheck the Safety box to enable the trade buttons. When the Safety box is checked, you will not be able to use the app s order entry buttons to place any orders, including the CANCEL and CLOSE order buttons. Order Status Section The Order Status Section is the horizontal bar that appears at the top of the DepthFinder App. This section contains fields where you enter information about your order, information about open orders, and the SnapShot and QuickChart buttons. 5 DepthFinder User Guide

6 Symbol Displays the symbol for which you are placing an order, and the symbol that will be analyzed in the app window. There are two ways to switch between symbols within the app: you can click above the order status section and type in the new symbol in the Command Line window that automatically appears; or you can symbol link the DepthFinder to a quote screen, chart or other trading app. Last Price The price at which the last trade took place. Quantity The amount of a specific symbol that you want to buy or sell, specified in shares, contracts or lots. Duration The length of time that an order will remain valid in the market. There are four duration options: DAY orders remain valid until the end of the regular trading session. GTC Good till canceled. IOC Immediate or Cancel. These orders are filled immediately or canceled. Partial fills are accepted when using this order duration. FOK Fill or Kill. These orders are filled in their entirety or canceled. Partial fills are not accepted. Account The account you want to use in settlement of your order. Current Position Displays Flat if you are not in a position in the particular symbol; Long Trade if you are in a long (buy) position; and Short Trade if you are in a short (sell) position. Pos. Size The size of your current position; for example, 3 (contracts) or 500 (shares). Position P/L The profit or loss of an open position, shown as a dollar amount in green for winning trades and red for losing positions. Avg. Price The average price of shares/contracts bought at different prices over time. SnapShot Click to launch a window that displays price and fundamental data for the symbol. QuickChart Click to launch a daily interval chart of the symbol. 6 DepthFinder User Guide

7 TradeBar Section The TradeBar Section appears as a horizontal bar at the bottom of the DepthFinder App. Traders use this section to place buy and sell orders (both market and limit), or to cancel an order or close a position. If traders wish to enter a limit order to buy or sell, they must first select the limit price from the main Market Depth Section of the app using the Update button that corresponds to the appropriate price. Once this price is updated in the Limit Price box in the center of the TradeBar, clicking on the Buy or Sell Limit buttons will send a limit or stop limit order to the market. Depending on the relative location of the current (last) price to the limit price, the App will automatically use the correct order type (limit or stop limit). For instance, if a trader wanted to place a SELL limit order on the E-mini DOW $5 at a price of (click Update at level and then click "SELL Limit") and it was currently trading at 16055, a limit sell order would be sent to the market. If the trader wanted to place a SELL limit order at the same price of , but the last price was a stop limit order would be placed with a stop price and a limit price of For more information on TradeStation order types please refer to the TradeStation help guide. 7 DepthFinder User Guide

8 The TradeBar section contains the following buttons/fields: CANCEL Click this button to cancel all outstanding orders for the symbol. BUY Market Places an order to buy at whatever the current market price is at the time the order reaches the trading floor. BUY Limit Places an order to buy when the market reaches the specified limit price or better (at-or-below for buy orders). Limit Price This box indicates the selected Limit price. SELL Limit Places an order to sell when the market reaches the specified limit price or better (at-or-above for sell orders). SELL Market Places an order to sell at whatever the current market price is at the time the order reaches the trading floor. CLOSE Click this button to close an open order with a market order. WARNING: It is strongly recommend that you test the order entry features of the DepthFinder Trading App on a simulated account prior to real trading. Traders who wish to use the DepthFinder Trading App for analysis purposes only can disable the trade buttons by checking the "Safety" checkbox. PowerZone Trading, LLC assumes no responsibility or liability from gains or losses that occur while using this product. 8 DepthFinder User Guide

9 DepthFinder Trading App Inputs The Depth Finder includes several user definable inputs that can be changed to customize the app to fit specific user preferences. This can be helpful when assigning initial position sizes or defining how many shares, contracts or lots to scroll through when setting a trading size in the Quantity selection of the Order Status section. To change any of the inputs, click on the DepthFinder App and then, at the top TradeStation menu bar, click Format > Trading App > choose the Inputs tab. Depth Levels DepthLevels - This input allows traders to adjust the number of market depth levels that appear in the main display. While it is recommended to leave this on the default setting of 10, users may change this if they wish to focus on fewer depth levels for their analysis. When this is set to values less than 10, the unused levels remain blank. Symbols that have a limited number of market depth levels (such as Forex symbols) will display with the maximum number of levels available for that particular data feed, up to the input setting selected by the user. Quantity Defaults Each of these inputs defines the initial position size for a particular symbol type and the incremental value of each numeric up or down click. QuantityInt_Futures - This represents the initial number of contracts that appears in the Quantity box when a new futures symbol is opened. QuantityIncr_Futures This sets the increment for the up and down increment buttons in the Quantity box of a futures symbol. QuantityInt_Forex - This represents the initial number of contracts that appears in the Quantity box when a new Forex symbol is opened. QuantityIncr_Forex This sets the increment for the up and down increment buttons in the Quantity box of a Forex symbol. QuantityInt_Stock - This represents the initial number of contracts that appears in the Quantity box when a new Stock symbol is opened. QuantityIncr_Stock This sets the increment for the up and down increment buttons in the quantity Box of a Stock symbol. QuantityInt_Options - This represents the initial number of contracts that appears in the Quantity box when a new Options symbol is opened. QuantityIncr_Options This sets the increment for the up and down increment buttons in the Quantity box of an Options symbol. 9 DepthFinder User Guide

10 Disclaimers All content contained in the PowerZone Trading, LLC ( websites, and all videos, literature, products and services (including but not limited to consulting and programming services) are for educational purposes only. PowerZone Trading makes no guarantee that you will become a successful trader, even with the best education, tools and guidance. PowerZone Trading does not make any trading recommendations, and nothing should be construed as such. You are responsible for any and all trading activities in which you engage, including any resulting losses. You should consult your broker or financial advisor before placing any trade. PowerZone Trading assumes no responsibility for your trading and investment activities or results. By accessing the PowerZone Trading website(s) and/or by purchasing any PowerZone Trading product or service, you agree not to hold PowerZone Trading, LLC, its managing members and/or its affiliates liable for any loss or damage arising either directly or indirectly from such action. Required USA Government Disclaimers: Futures and Options trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the futures and options markets. Don't trade with money you can't afford to lose. This is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Buy/Sell futures or options. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed on this web site or during instructional sessions. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results. CFTC RULE HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN INHERENT LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN ACTUALLY EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER-OR-OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN PowerZone Trading, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 10 DepthFinder User Guide