Data Feed

A Data Feed refers to the data that your computer or network is receiving. The data feed will most probably have a front end which is a charting package or a trading platform or a hybrid of both. You will typically receive a Data Feed from a Feed Vendor.

Typically, a Data Feed, does not require as much bandwidth as many traders think. The amount of data being sent over the wire is surprisingly small even for very active futures such as the E-mini S&P500. There are many traders that use dial-up modems for trading although this is becoming rarer not because of the need for higher speed connections for trading but just because of the incresed availability of inexpensive high speed connections.

Data Feeds can provide real time data. If you subscribe to a real time data feed then you will typically receive price sensitive information within the same second that the action took place assuming that your connection to the exchange (typically your internet connection) does not have a dealy on it (such as some Satelite connections).

Data Feeds may also provide delayed data. Typical delays that the exchanges allow are 15 and 20 minutes. Exchanges will heavily discount this type of price information.

Your data feed may provide intraday data and/or interday data. Intraday data refers to data on a timeframe less that one day and are typically measured in minutes. For example, a 120 minute or 15 minute chart would be a chart of intraday data. Interday data, meanwhile, refers to the Open, High, Low, and Close prices for one trading day.