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 Reliable charting software with a robust Real-Time (RT) market datafeed is the lifeblood of any professional trader. At any instant, with Real-Time data, a trader from anywhere in the world, through an online internet connection, can find out how a particular instrument is trading. Every tick i.e. every single buy/sell transaction is transmitted out by the exchanges and distributed through the data vendors network and to the customer, all within a span of a few milliseconds. The widespread availability of Real-Time data has made it possible for the average Joe to stand shoulder to shoulder with professional Wall Street traders.
Essentially, there are 3 types of real-time trading charting software
and data types as follows:
Live Streaming Charts & Data
 Live streaming data is actually live quotes displayed on your PC in
real-time but no data is physically stored on your PC. All data, be it live or
historical, is downloaded as needed from your data vendor's servers. This is
normally the most basic level of real-time data and most brokers will provide
this free with your trading account. The features vary widely as some may
provide some basic charting whereas others just provide basic level 1 (bid, ask,
volume & last done) quotes. You can also subscribe to streaming data at very
reasonable rates (typically < $10 per month) from reputable service providers
like Yahoo Finance, ProphetFinance & Quote.com. You can also try a free streaming package from ADVFN. These packages also normally have
an option for a basic stock screener to aid in selecting stocks based on
pre-determined fundamental or technical criteria.
Real-Time Charting & Data
 The next level of live data is best approached from a "quality
and timeliness of data" angle. There are many data vendors in this sector
but a good number of them are 3rd party re-sellers so you can see where the
"timeliness" factor comes into play. The big boys like your fund &
money managers and financial corporations will usually obtain their data from
1st tier providers like S&P Comstock, Reuters and Bloomberg. These
systems are costly but they do provide the best data available anywhere.
For professional and proprietary traders trading full-time, some may go with
the above-mentioned systems but others may choose the next level of providers
such as RealTick. The general public and startup traders normally choose data
vendors that are priced more reasonably but still offer robust data and charting
like eSignal and QCharts.
The other prominent group of charting software makers use the free
datafeed from your current broker to provide inexpensive yet powerful charting
capabilities. Programs like Medved Quotetracker are very popular amongst many
traders who prefer this option. Quotetracker's ability to use many different
datafeeds from different sources allows a trader to determine which datafeed is
the best without changing the charting front-end.
Real-Time Charting with "On-the-Fly" Analytics and Backtesting
 As desktop computing power increases, the home-based retail player
is able to tap onto trading software systems which were previously only
available to large money managers or trading prop shops. Real-Time analysis
software like NeoTicker, StockWatch Pro and Ensign enable anyone with real time
trading data to backtest and analyze thousands of stocks or trading instruments
in realtime to search for pre-determined conditions.
For e.g. lets say you typically trade using a 5 mins chart, which is a
popular timeframe for e-mini S&P 500 traders, and you want to buy a
component stock of the S&P500 when the S&P futures form a head &
shoulders and break out to the upside, but with the condition that the component
stock is still trading below its 5 period moving average. Once programmed, the
software will "on the fly" analyze all the stock data coming in and alert you
when any component stock matches the criteria you mentioned. You can then review
it and manually place a trade or you can also fully automate the whole
process by integrating your analytics software with your broker's interface and
let your software place the trade for you.
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