The basics of market data

If you’ve read up on the market data packages available to you, you may be wondering what the different market data sets mean. Here we’ll do a quick run-down of the differences between the data types, how data packages are used, and how to figure out which data package is right for you.

Snap quotes

These are free quotes that come standard on all Questrade platforms. You can use them to see information like the current bid and ask prices, the order sizes of those bids and asks, and the last price at which a trade occurred. You can simply click the snap quote button on the individual security to refresh the quote (or by swiping down to refresh the stock quote if you’re in QuestMobile).

Snap quotes do have their limitations: since they’re not streaming, you will have to keep clicking the button to update the current price, and charts on some platforms are presented with a 15-minute delay.

Snap quotes are always available for any listed security that you can buy through your Questrade trading platform, regardless of your data package.

Streaming level 1 data

This is real-time streaming data available on all Questrade Edge platforms. With it, the entire level 1 quote (bid, ask, last trade, volume, bid and ask size, and more) are constantly refreshed, or “streamed” for you in the background. You will also see the bid and ask prices flash green or red as the trades “tick” up and down in price.

Charts for Canadian markets are also updated in real-time, allowing you to watch a live feed of whatever charting metrics you might want to track.

Since real-time streaming data updates immediately as the market moves, it’s great for fast traders whose strategies depend on keeping a close eye on the markets and capitalizing on small windows of opportunity.

To get a walk-through on how to read level 1 data, see our level 1 trading quotes article.

Level 1 data for stocks and ETFs listed on the following exchanges is available in the free basic data package:

• TSX
• TSXV
• NASDAQ (via CBOE One Summary)
• NYSE (via CBOE One Summary)
• AMEX (via CBOE One Summary)
• ARCA (via CBOE One Summary)
• BATS (via CBOE One Summary)

To learn more about the availability of free and paid level 1 data, see our Real-time market data streaming plans article.

What is CBOE One Summary data?

The CBOE One Summary data feed is a market data product that provides high-quality, real-time reference quotes and level-1 trade data. It does this by aggregating several real-time data streams and amalgamating them into a feed covering stocks and ETFs trading on major American exchanges. This way, we can provide you with level-1 streaming data for US stocks and ETFs for free, without having to subscribe to a data plan.

Please note that, because CBOE One Summary data is sourced from a subset of US exchanges, it can occasionally show slight differences from what is shown in snap quotes. CBOE One Summary level 1 data is not provided directly from the markets, and may have some limitations, such as not providing time and sales data. Direct market data for NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX, ARCA, and BATS are included in most paid data packages.

Real-time options data

Real-time streaming options data is not included in the free data package, but it is available on the platform through the Real-time options data package. This data package provides the advantages of real-time streaming level 1 market data for derivatives trading, giving your options trading the same real-time data edge as your securities trading. It also includes level 1 NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX, ARCA, and BATS data sourced directly from the exchanges.

Real-time options data is also included in both the Advanced Canadian data package and Advanced U.S. data package.

Streaming level 2 data

These market data feeds let you see everything included in level 1 trading quotes, and also include the order book for the security. This means that you can see all the bids and asks from other market participants (traders and institutions), the size of their orders, and where the orders are coming from.

This additional depth gives you a more three-dimensional view of how the security is being traded. With it, you’re able to take things such as order volumes into consideration when deciding how a stock is going to move, or to see who is buying or selling the stock to get a sense of what the market makers are thinking.

To get a walk-through on how to read level 2 data, see our level 2 trading quotes article.

To learn more about the availability of level 2 data, see our Real-time market data streaming plans article below.