Interactive Brokers (India)

nadiyakinare

Well-Known Member
Does anyone face issue with nifty options ticket name in TWS? SO far twice it happenned to me that the symbol name format changes and I really find it difficult to figure out the symbol name. For example, for sept, name format wasz NIFTY2291517600CE for nifty 170600 ce expiring on 15th sept.
However in oct the symbol format for weekly is now NIFTY22O0617000CE .. notice the O for oct instead of number 10. any idea?
check the description of the symbol using right click. or just go for nifty50 index then open its options chain, select any call or put strike and you will have chart open
 

travi

Well-Known Member
Does anyone face issue with nifty options ticket name in TWS? SO far twice it happenned to me that the symbol name format changes and I really find it difficult to figure out the symbol name. For example, for sept, name format wasz NIFTY2291517600CE for nifty 170600 ce expiring on 15th sept.
However in oct the symbol format for weekly is now NIFTY22O0617000CE .. notice the O for oct instead of number 10. any idea?
this is standard NSE options symbol notation
<spot name>YYxxx<strike><CE/PE>

The 5 characters of date is YYxxx

YY is last 2-digits of year. eg 21,22,23...

A) xxx in monthly
all monthly contracts are first 3 letters of the month: JAN, MAR, NOV etc

B) xxx is yzz For weekly contracts,
y is 1 to 9 for jan to sep, and Oct=O, Nov=N, Dec=D (only 1 character for the month)
zz is the weekly expiry date. ie 06, 13, 20....

this makes it easy for pattern matching as well as generating the symbols name dynamically.
 
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Hello to the 1220 Interactive Brokers India users. Special greetings to @CougarTrader I come in peace, offering respects

Just spent the last week setting up TWS for intraday trading NIFTY & BANKNIFTY options. Having used TWS to trade international markets for an offshore company, I think TWS and TT are 2 of the best trading platforms around.

So, I got my IB India account setup, funded my account, subscribed to NSE realtime data. Further, I have setup my muti-charts on my multi monitor setup, configured order presets, keyboard trading shortcuts, chart trading buttons..the whole works. I was ALL set to transfer my capital from my Z account to IBKR.

Then when testing my order firing on the IBKR paper account, I stumbled upon a rather simple issue that after speaking to the IB Trade Desk Support, turns out to be a total deal breaker.

You see, like most Indian things, there is a socialist hangover that still lingers in our approach to capital markets. The NSE plays big brother and dictates rather low freeze limits, For eg on Nifty its freeze limit is 1800qty/order and BANKNIFTY it is 900qty/order. On the Z webapp, the simple way to trade large option orders, [my BANK option orders are 10,000qty (400lots)] I simply use the Iceberg orders option in the order ticket to punch in a 10,000qty BANKNIFTY Option Buy order using 10 iceberg legs. (Freeze qty before this week on BankNifty was 1200 Not 900) See attachment. Execution takes 1-2 seconds usually.

So I called up IB trade desk to inquire how I was supposed to place orders above the 900qty freeze size for BANKNIFTY options; say If I wanted to place a retail trader sized 1000qty of Nov3 BANKNIFTY41500PE (Costs 4.5lakh); they simply say "NO YOU CANNOT PLACE AN ORDER MORE THAN FREEZE QTY ie 900": I simply couldn't accept this, and probed the support agent for 30min, probing further, explaining my question again and again: "How can it be that none of IBKR India users can place even a relatively tiny 4.5lakh 1000qty options order; when shitty startup brokers allow school kids to trade 10,000qty options in a second on their mobile phone??", I simply cannot accept that this is the case. The only solutions provided by IBKR India was:

a. Place the order multiple times in lots of 900 (Of course not possible for fast trading execution)
b. Try using scale trader (Only allows Limit orders not Market orders, too slow for trading OPEN/ Volatile markets)

So, I would like to know from any IB India users, guys, surely there must be a simple way we can place orders above the freeze qty size in a quick manner on TWS? Please take a minute to help out, kindly oblige at your convenience.

1667393762006.png
 
Hey All,

A big thanks to @CougarTrader for providing such a good read about Ibkr India.

I scalp mostly using Custom Renkos that are not provided by any broker termial including TWS, hence, i use Ninjatrader for charts. Now to automate and trade using this i need to purchase licence to integrate NT with broker. Only broker supported by NT and with presence in India is IBKR. Hence came here.

I have connected TWS and NT before but that was for US version (trial) and S&P500 e minis. I read people are comfortably trading using Ami and TWS but has anybody worked through NT and TWS combo for NSE?

Review of IBKR in context of this query:-

My Trading style - I scalp options using custom renkos. Now these chart types are time independent, meaning next signal could come in anywhere from 3 seconds to 30 mins. Not very practical to do it manually right, so I coded it in Ninjatrader 8 (it's an analysis and highly flexible automated trading software).

I wanted to open IBKR exclusively to trade with Ninjatrader 8, since they only support IBKR for NSE, I went ahead and opened my account. Opened account, connected NT8 with TWS API and good to go. However major deal breaker for me, I found out that I can't trade options through NT8, data just wouldn't load. I asked NT8 support regarding this and it's a known issue that TWS doesn't send NSE options data to NT8, reason best known to IBKR themselves. When i called IBKR Support they didn't understand issue initially, and then upon finding nothing to say, they simply hung up on me. Kind of unprofessional on their part. Then i raised a ticket and put forward this issue. This good guy didn't accept that there is an issue and went on suggesting me how to load futures contract in NT7, yes not NT8. He was suggesting me a way to load futures contract (I didnt ask for) to NT7 (version that has gone outdated 6 years ago). I gave up at this point.

Even if i put aside this NT8 and automating part and try trading manually, TWS doesn't even have simple renko charts, forget custom ones. Using @GoldmanSniper words, even "shitty startup brokers" provide at least simple ones.

Anyway for the moment I am not trading with them. TWS does send in data for Futures and Cash stocks though, but scalping them is like getting peanuts while giving away apples to exchange.
 
I am not affiliated to any-body or any-one. Common Indian, love participating in the markets! I remain busy for 16-18 hrs everyday, there might be delay in my reply. But I'll try to reply as and when possible.

Before anything else, if you do not have >= 5L margin and/or do not have a plan to execute your trades, DO NOT ENTER THE MARKETS! Might sound rude, but that's for your own good... Supermen/Superwomen die first in the markets... Be practical and anticipate practical gains!

IBKR is a no nonsense broker. If you are damn serious on your trading, you must consider them because as a fellow trader I think you deserve all that they offer! At current pricing, what IBKR India is offering is a steal - be it their TWS platform or their free super-stable API.

Cons (feel free to post more in comments):
1) Unlike other brokers, probably there will be no hand-holding (but all required information is readily available online if searched properly)
2) Reaching customer service is tough, you need to plan your administrative stuffs beforehand (email or raising tickets works the best)
3) Call & trade costs Rs.2000/- per trade (don't worry their platforms are super-sleek, your orders won't get stuck. For me, that need never arose)
4) Charges max Rs.200/- per month if that amount of commission is not generated (first 3 months free, otherwise waived if account worth >= 10L)
5) No intraday leverage (IMHO it is a good thing in the long run)
6) On F&O positions, margin required is 5% to 10% greater than Exchange (again that is a good thing IMO, as they don't want you to loose it all, since markets are uncertain for any wild move - read Mark Douglas if in doubt)
7) Trades only in NSE
8) Might require learning curve of at least 30-90 days, if complete novice that might further linger depending on grasping ability. Need to learn their TWS platform which has tons of features along with all sorts of custom flexibility options (you will be challenged to break-out of your comfort zone; but once you do, you shall have beauty to behold)

Pros (to avoid TLDR; keeping it short):
1) Flawlessly trade directly from TWS charts
2) Top-notch data security
3) Order Execution is fastest, incomparable to any other Indian broker, also order modifications happen instantly. IBKR's main OMS server is co-located inside NSE's server in Mumbai. NSE has servers in all Tier-1 cities; the delay happens with other brokers because your orders generally goes through several abstraction layers, increasing latency.
4) Flexibility to tune into market with their plethora of unique, innovative Order-types. You get GTC (not GTT) by default.
5) Very stable trading platform and no track-record of bullshit happening. Whatever has been the market condition, neither TWS Classic nor Mosaic has faltered for once. Just make sure to have a good internet connection from your end for "peace of mind" trading
6) Use their free NSE Market-Data API subscription and connect to Licensed Amibroker (that comes with IBKR plugins) for any sort of custom live-charts. You can also directly trade from AB too and do lot many cool stuffs if you know AFL
7) Free paper-trading account (though few limitations apply), very helpful to understand how their platform functions

Enjoy!

Few links worth mentioning:
Commissions
Required Minimums
Information for Indian Individuals

P.S. And seriously should you wish to trade on a New Year's eve or on 1st January, go see a psychiatrist! Plan your trades, don't let your trades plan you.
@cougtrader I have been trading on IB for last 15 years. I want to set up derivatives account with IB India as an NRI .

However, I am stuck at understanding what info to be input for Bank account info like this. Can you pls guidevme. Thank you.

My bank is HDFC.

IB is asking for
RBI reference and RBI date for that bank. Pic is attached.
 

CougarTrader

Well-Known Member
3a. "USD 100 (equivalent in INR) minimum required to subscribe to and maintain market data and research subscriptions" - is this annual maintenance charge or a one time non-refundable fee?
Also noticed a minimum $500 requirement. Is that minimum capital we should be maintaining?
No minimum fee or amount applicable.
4. How is the mobile platform? Does it sync with TWS desktop? Can we trade from chart from both desktop & mobile (like placing a trade on desktop & then managing it with mobile & vice versa)?
Just awesome
5. I am seeing that TWS is supported on Macbooks as well. Do you have any experience using them on macs? (I have downloaded the demo version & playing around with delayed charts. Can't believe that each & every option I always wanted to have in my broker is right infront of me! )
Yes - same as Windows. Rock solid stable!

I have connected TWS and NT before but that was for US version (trial) and S&P500 e minis. I read people are comfortably trading using Ami and TWS but has anybody worked through NT and TWS combo for NSE?
never used NT; been using AB for a long time (and satisfied)

However, I am stuck at understanding what info to be input for Bank account info like this. Can you pls guidevme. Thank you.
DM'd you a contact from IBKR... please check with him...

sorry folks for late reply (was unavailable)...

Happy New Year 2023 to all...
 
Hello coming to TJ after many years, wanted to trade in foreign stocks so joining the IB forum.
Just to reconfirm few things

Looking for long term investment in cash market only foreign stocks (cash market). Please guide. @CougarTrader and others having account IB

1. The Rs 200 monthly charge is now gone? And there are no charges for non trading in any markets be it Indian or foreign ? I have sent application for domestic and foreign one.

2. The market data for NSE is free now ?how to subscribe?

3. The US market data is chargeable ? Also the normal ticker data for any global stock is available without any extra payment ?

4. While making the application i forgot select global markets and left it on default so now if i want to trade in eg: London stock exchange i have to keep sending them request now every time I want to trade in new market ? Shall i cancel application and redo ? I think already did but it still shows there in account.
I want everything pre activated and then don't want spend too much time with their customer care as I called them once did not find that good or helpful when I asked them about fund transfer.

5. Fund transfer is wire transfer best or better option ? Anyone know bank charges for SBI or any other option?

Is wire same thing like NEFT but internationally ?

I was using SBI international transfer to add them but It did not take the full account number and there is no option also to give my IB account number as refrence number which they mentioned. So IDK how to transfer funds also to them spent few hours atleast to try and figure this out today. I wish they would add some payment gateway too to mark trasfer more easy.

Website while filling the application was moving really slow don't know why has log in and back bunch of times as it was not updating.
 

CougarTrader

Well-Known Member
Hello coming to TJ after many years, wanted to trade in foreign stocks so joining the IB forum.
Just to reconfirm few things
I am writing in this manner such that it would fit all who reads....

Before anything else you must be an established trader who can generate minimum 12% p.a. on your capital no matter what happens!

If you are a NRI and earn stable salary in $ or € or where 'X'INR >= 50, it makes sense that you participate in the free markets. Otherwise given current rates (and future outlook) you will lose big time on your gains - at the end you would be converting back to INR...

From India you are not (legally) allowed to trade in any foreign derivatives, you are stuck with foreign stocks only. Hence, you won't be able to hedge those positions.

From India if you are eager to participate (in long-term perspective) the best (and only) cost effective way would be through trusted MFs like PPFAS or PGIM.

Alternative (legally):
Now having that said, if you've means, time and determination, you may fly (on biz-visa) to Milwaukee or Toronto or London or Dubai or Singapore; live there for few months, convert whatever INR to USD/EUR, hire an attorney, establish a sole-proprietorship Trading firm, come back to India and operate that account virtually from here. In such a scenario, would suggest to go with "TD Ameritrade" and use their (best in world, especially options) ThinkorSwim platform.

My word of caution - DO NOT TRADE NAKED (without hedge) IN FOREIGN STOCKS.

If one is addicted to trading and losing money no longer feels anything, please go to a casino in Goa or Darjeeling or Gangtok - at least you'll have free alchohol and/or buffet.... ;)

1. The Rs 200 monthly charge is now gone? And there are no charges for non trading in any markets be it Indian or foreign ? I have sent application for domestic and foreign one.
India = 0
foreign = $200 minimum

2. The market data for NSE is free now ?how to subscribe?
yes... through their back-office "Account Settings"... very simple and customizable...

1673599513101.png


3. The US market data is chargeable ? Also the normal ticker data for any global stock is available without any extra payment ?
yes, US market data data is chargeable...

Is wire same thing like NEFT but internationally ?
yes... with Indian banks WIRE = NEFT...
 
@CougarTrader ty for all the details and confirmation you have shared.

https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/pricing/research-news-marketdata.php
I found this link on the website of some free trial.
"Already an IBKR Client?
Start a free trial subscription
or subscribe to research."
I could not find what exactly this free trial is.

What does this free trial subscription include does it include any kind of market data as well?

Also I'm getting a Java error when I tried to download the 64-bit TWS platform on win7 machine yet to try it on win10. Got it from the website. I did update Java but did not help.
 
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CougarTrader

Well-Known Member
What does this free trial subscription include does it include any kind of market data as well?
during trial you'll get delayed data...

Also I'm getting a Java error when I tried to download the 64-bit TWS platform on win7 machine yet to try it on win10. Got it from the website. I did update Java but did not help.
win 7 is deprecated since Jan-20 so no support in that OS... https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/end-of-support

BTW one cannot open an Ameritrade account from India... either need to form a LLC or Sole Proprietorship in any free markets and then operate...
 

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