One tick above market open - api trade

C2 Software Development
1

Hello all,



Forgive me if this has been asked and answered. I searched but did not find the info I was looking for.



Is it possible to use the api to automate opening a position when a stock ticks above or below market open? For example: I want to go long ABC if it ticks above it’s opening price. Is there a way to do this using collective2’s api instead of monitoring price action myself and sending a market order in when the condition is met?



Thanks in advance

2

Sure. You’ll want to use C2’s “relative order” feature. This allows you to set a stop or limit price based on the opening price, without knowing in advance what the opening price is. Check out our Signal API documentation here:



http://www.collective2.com/content/automation.htm#relativeorders

3

Thanks Matthew.



I looked at the relative order feature, but I’m confused on one part of it. If I send in a long relative order for open + .25, does that instruct the system to purchase the stock at open for no more than open + .25 or will the system purchase the stock when the price is .25 above the day’s open?



I appreciate your help on this.

4

Buy Limit Open + .25 means: Buy when price is less than or equal to Open + .25



Buy Stop Open + .25 means: Buy when price touches or goes above Open + .25



For more about the differences between stop orders and limit orders, please see:



http://www.collective2.com/static/info/how_stop.htm

5

Thanks Matthew. I figured that’s what you meant by Buy Limit. I guess what I’m looking for is more of a threshold long/short trigger. Many times a big seller will unload at open. When this happens, the high for the day is the same as the open. Obviously, you wouldn’t want to initiate a short term long position on a day like this.



It’s easy enough to avoid this situation when trading manually, but automated systems need to be adjusted accordingly.



I have this scenario handled in my own trading software, but I would rather use your api for everything if I can.



So is there a way to automatically initiate a long position ONLY when the price moves above the open using the collective2 api?



Thanks for your time.

6

I don’t understand what you are asking for. Isn’t what you need simply an order to Buy Stop @ Open + .25. That will Buy when (and if) the price moves above the opening price plus .25.

7

I’ll try that out, thanks. Typically, though, wouldn’t a buy stop be used when you have an open short position? would the “Buy Stop @ Open + .25” actually initiate a new long position? The system I’m working on should only open a long position once the price ticks above the open. so i’m just trying to automate that part of it with your api.



sorry for the confusion, but over the past 15 years I’ve developed trading systems for, probably, 6 or 7 different platforms and while some of the functionality and terminology is the same, there are always differences. I just want to make sure I use the api the way it’s supposed to be used.



thanks

8

You wrote:



"Typically, though, wouldn’t a buy stop be used when you have an open short position?"



No, not necessarily. You are confusing “stop loss” and “stop” orders. See this tutorial for help:



http://www.collective2.com/static/info/how_stop.htm

9

Thanks Matthew,



Some platforms refer to “stop” orders as “threshold” orders while some others don’t even allow a straight stop order, only stop loss orders. I’m glad to see that collective2 recognizes stop orders. It’s going to make my trading life a lot easier.