Schwab short sell orders in extended hours

[wdmal]

Hello,


I am currently testing the connection to Schwab and encountered the below issue.

I am unable to submit a short sell order outside of regular trading hours, because of below errors. The error received depends on the TIF that I choose:
1) GTC REJECTED: This security is currently hard to borrow. Good until cancelled short sale orders are not accepted for hard to borrow securities
2) DAY REJECTED: This security is currently hard to borrow. Short sale orders for HTB securities are not accepted between the hours of 8:00pm and 7:00am ET due to short sale locate requirements
3) GTD: I am unable to change the date (the little calendar doesn't show when I choose that option) so I get an error "You must set a date for TIF=GTD"

Could you kindly let me know how to make this work between ninjatrader and schwab? I can submit the orders without issues directly through Schwab website using "Day+extended hours" timing

Best,

[NinjaTrader_LuisH]

Hello wdmal,


Thank you for posting on the NinjaTrader forums.



The errors you are encountering when submitting short sell orders through Schwab in NinjaTrader are related to Schwab's hard-to-borrow (HTB) security restrictions and short sale locate requirements.

1. GTC (Good Till Canceled)
   • Error: "This security is currently hard to borrow. Good until cancelled short sale orders are not accepted for hard to borrow securities."
   • Schwab does not accept GTC short sale orders on HTB securities.
2. DAY (Day Order)
   • Error: "This security is currently hard to borrow. Short sale orders for HTB securities are not accepted between the hours of 8:00 PM and 7:00 AM ET due to short sale locate requirements."
   • Schwab only allows short selling of HTB securities during regular trading hours.
   • Try submitting your order during Schwab’s accepted short-selling hours (7:00 AM - 8:00 PM ET).
3. GTD (Good Till Date)
   • Error: "You must set a date for TIF=GTD."
   • Reason: NinjaTrader is not allowing you to select a date in the calendar.
   • Solution: Try entering the date manually in the format MM/DD/YYYY.

• If Schwab's website allows "Day+Extended Hours," this TIF option may not be available in NinjaTrader.
• If you need to short an HTB security outside Schwab's allowed hours, contact Schwab directly to request a locate before placing the order.

I hope this helps! Thank you in advance!

[wdmal]

Hi,

Unfortunately this doesn't solve my issue. Let me simplify my question:

I can sell short HTB stocks through Schwab website from 7am to 8pm without any issues using the order types "DAY+extended hours" and "extended hours am+pm". How do I submit the same or similar order type through ninjatrader to place sell short orders outside of regular hours? The options I see in the software (DAY, GTC) don't work from the reasons stated previously.

Best,

[NinjaTrader_LuisH]

Hello wdmal,


Please try logging into Schwab's website > Trade > Trading Platforms > Select ThinkorSwim Desktop. If all your accounts are already enabled for this you won't see this option.


In the meantime I will check with my team to see if this is something we can replicate and/or report for investigation.


Thank you.

[wdmal]

Thanks Luis.

Yes, thinkorswim is enabled. Could you kindly explain how it negatively affects my ability to trade through ninjatrader (what options that you mentioned are disabled)?

I appreciate your help.

Best,

[NinjaTrader_LuisH]

Hello wdmal,


Just as a quick update - our development team has been made aware and actively working to get this resolved before the full release of the adapter.



Thank you for your continue patience and feedback!

[wdmal]

Thanks @NinjaTrader_LuisH, sounds great! Any idea for a workaround in the meantime to make shorting work in the extended hours? Anything I can do in ninjascript(e.g., can I specify the TIF type of order I want to submit through there)?

[NinjaTrader_LuisH]

Thanks @NinjaTrader_LuisH, sounds great! Any idea for a workaround in the meantime to make shorting work in the extended hours? Anything I can do in ninjascript(e.g., can I specify the TIF type of order I want to submit through there)?

Nothing I can suggest at this time! Will update this post if I hear anything back.

[wdmal]

Hi, I can see in the 8.1.4.2 notes "Refined Schwab integration to improve order submission and trading platform compatibility". Has this issue been resolved by any chance? If not which release is it going to be included in?

Best,
WM