Stock trading is one of the more accessible and fast ways to gain from your investments. This process can be in the form of trading stocks when the price increases, or in by holding shares for better profits. Both of these methods involve a deep understanding of the market and the nature of stocks.
However, by fast-swinging in digitalization, this stock data extraction is not a big deal so far for finance professionals. For instance, the whole scheme of doing stock data mining is NO MORE manual for investors. Instead, stock APIs have taken charge of proceeding with all financial requirements intended by investors. This point can be thoroughly digested by exploring any API for stock data (even free stock market APIs). Such APIs are ready to propagate tasks and only require a free key for initiation. That’s why after their launch, many investors found them an exceptional source of quick data collection, coming from global to regional stock markets.
We see fluctuations in stock prices on a daily basis. The market is a very volatile space. It can go from peeks to lows in a matter of minutes.
These changes could be triggered because of a news story, a company policy change, or even sentiment. Keeping a tab on these changes is the crucks of all stock-market-trading.
This process is called a ‘market watch.’ Using a dashboard, one can monitor all the stocks that could affect your investments or big-mover-stocks that affect the market in general.
During the active-trade time, the way to gauge a share is by four parameters. These are the opening value, the all-time high price, the daily high-price, and the cost at market close time.
Understanding Market-Watch avenues.
The importance of keeping an eye on the market is apparent by now. A problem users face is that there is more than one way to keep an eye on the market.
Not all these avenues can be utilized each day. These can be broadly classified into three headings.
1. News:
This medium is a relevant and noteworthy source for the stock market watch. They have been a reliable source of information for generations.
In today’s age of technology, we can also consider online news sources as the same. They do not just provide the stock values, but also provide news that could affect fluctuation.
2. Broker/ Trading App:
The last decade has seen the broker and trading application market reach new levels of innovations. Many investors prefer to use these platforms since they are simple and straightforward. They also let you process sales and buys much faster since you are already logged into the platform.
3. Custom API. (Application programming interface)
This is the revolution in the stock market price watch and trading. A stock API gives investors real-time prices across more than one market.
These can be tailor-made to the needs of the users too. Some API providers also support alternative data modes to provide analytical information.
The API can be customized to pull and feed you the information you find significant. If your trading calls need historical data, this process can also be allotted to for the same. This data is collected instantaneously, which makes it further efficient.
These API work in harmony with a back-end broker server. The API provider usually provides this broker platform too.
This platform acts as the server from which the API draws data and shows the user the info they need. They can also process buys and sell orders directly.
Advantages of Using API.
The use of API for stock trading is one of the most effective, tried, and tested ways to gain more productivity. Most of these platforms that provide a free stock API have seen a surge in users in the last year. We can consider these three significant advantages to make a switch.
1. Real-Time Market Data.
A stock API user will get the most accurate, real-time update on stocks for both paper trading and live trading. Even in this era of innovation and technological advancements, it is quite hard to get lag-free data, but a well-designed API will give you excellent results.
2. Free Of Commission.
If you were to trade using a broker, there is often a fee that is charged. This fee is a percentage of the trade-order value.
The advantage of a good API based network is that there is zero commission. The user can sign up with the service, download it for free, and customize it to their needs.
3. Better Business Needs.
If you are looking to do trading on a larger scale, like setting up a trading firm or a hedge fund, then the use of these services is the best way forward. You can save on substantial annual overheads and have the freedom to keep select watch-lists and make multiple visualization tables.
How To Utilize Stock API?
In it’s more practical utilization, an API can be perceived as a button with pre-loaded information. The application programmer can use these APIs to run a set of functions and get the job done faster.
For the use of stock API, you will need a basic or working knowledge of coding. If you are not a coder, the service-provider would usually have simple tutorials to set up a dashboard. They will be manageable step-by-step processes that the users need to follow to get the desired tables.
Another way to utilize stock API is with robust integrations. These can be with a pre-existing tool like Streak, Slack, etc. They can be built from scratch too.
The service provider will give you a set of code snippets that need to be used to create a general outline. This outline can later be customized based on the needs of the end-user or investor.
To understand this better, let’s take the example of Slack. Being a widely used business communication platform, they allow for extraordinary customization.
If we were to integrate a stock API into Slack, it would create a new window that lets you manage your portfolio from within the Slack-app. Using the Slack-Bot — the user can then give commands to process market-actions.
In Conclusion,
The use of API has reinvented the ways in which an investor mines for financial data. It has also been the spine to set up a large-scale financial application. The use of API acts as a shortcut on the long-route paths of writing code from scratch.
Based on the source of the API-Key, you will also have a wide range of advantages like better shot-and-long-selling and pre-market trading. Advanced knowledge of programming or a competent tech-team will work in your favor to give you better returns.
If you are a user looking to leap into stock API, then you must approach a relatable source that proved superior back-end support, online support and has established room for customization.
