Index

Work In Progress

This page has been added to simplify working with symbols from the different sources, and will include common and unique symbol format examples per source.

To make this page as useful as possible it will need to be expanded on based on your feedback. If it did not not help in finding the symbol you need, or would like a different symbol example for future reference send me an email and I will add the information..

Index Symbols

Description  EODHD  FMP  IB  IQFeed  Norgate  TDA  Yahoo
Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Industrial Average DJI.INDX ^DJI DJI[CME,IND,USD] INDU.X $DJI $DJI ^DJI
Dow Jones 65 Composite DJA.INDX COMP.X $DJC $DJC ^DJA
Dow Jones 15 Utilities DJU.INDX ^DJU DJU[CME,IND,USD] UTIL.X $DJU $DJU ^DJU
Dow Jones 20 Transportation DJT.INDX ^DJT DJT[CME,IND,USD] TRAN.X $DJT $DJT ^DJT
Nasdaq Indexes
Nasdaq Composite IXIC.INDX ^IXIC COMP[NASDAQ,IND,USD] COMPX.X $COMP $COMPX ^IXIC
Nasdaq 100 NDX.INDX ^NDX NDX[NASDAQ,IND,USD] NDX.X $NDX $NDX.X ^NDX
Nasdaq Computer   IXCO[NASDAQ,IND,USD] IXCO.X $IXK $IXCOX ^IXCO
S&P Indexes
S&P 500 GSPC.INDX ^GSPC SPX[CBOE,IND,USD] SPX.XO $SPX $SPX.X ^GSPC
S&P 100 SP100.INDX ^OEX OEX[CBOE,IND,USD] OEX.X $OEX $OEX.X ^SP100
S&P 400 Midcap MID.INDX ^MID MID[PSE,IND,USD] MID.X $MID $MID.X ^SP400
Other
Volatility Index VIX.INDX ^VIX VIX[CBOE,IND,USD] VIX.XO $VIX $VIX.X ^VIX
Description  EODHD  FMP  IB  IQFeed  Norgate  TDA  Yahoo

Option Symbols

Option data is available from:
EODHD - Last EOD - Detailed, all symbols.
InteractiveBrokers - streaming real-time, intraday backfill and historic data
IQFeed - Streaming real-time (or delayed), intraday backfill and historic data
TDAmeritrade - Streaming real-time only

Each source has their own symbol format as follow:

Syntax  Details
EODHD
By Formulae Referenced by formulae using underlying, date, strike and call/put.
Formulae can also find previous / next dates and previous / next strikes.
InteractiveBrokers
SymbolYYMMDD(CorP)Price[SMART,OPT,USD] Symbol is 6 characters, if less filled wth spaces.
i.e. For UPS, 3 spaces after, for MSFT 2 spaces after etc.
e.g. UPS 151023c00098500[smart,opt,usd]
UPSxxx, 15 for 2015, 10 for October, 23 for day, C for Call, 00098500 = $98.5, i.e. last 3 digits are decimal.
e.g. MSFT 151218P00045000[smart,opt,usd] for MSFTxx 2015 December 18th Put $45
IQFeed
SymbolYYDD(option month code)Price For Month Codes, see table below
e.g. UPS1523J98.5
UPS,15 for 2015, 23 for day, J = October Call, $98.5
e.g. MSFT1518X45
MSFT, 2015, 18th, X = December Put, $45
TDAmeritrade
Symbol_MMDDYY(CorP)Price e.g. UPS_102315C98.5
UPS, _, 10 for October, 23 for day, 15 for 2015, C for Call, $98.5
e.g. MSFT_121815P45
MSFT, _, December, 23rd, 2015, Put, $45
Yahoo
SymbolYYMMDD(CorP)Price e.g. AAPL210319C00117500
AAPL, 21 for 2021, 3 for March, 19 for day, C for Call, 00117500 for $117.50
0's padded with last 3 being decimal

 

Option Month Codes
 
Calls    Puts
January A M
February B N
March C O
April D P
May E Q
June F R
July G S
August H T
September    I U
October J V
November K W
December L X

 

EODHD

Cover over 60 exchanges, including 'virtual' exchanges for forex, cryptos, commodities, indexes, bonds etc.

Once you have enabled data for the exchange in preferences, all symbols will automatically be available and searchable via the EODHD view.

Each exchange, or virtual exchange has it's own suffix, e.g. .CC for cryptos, .INDX for indexes, .AU for Australian data, .US for US symbols. If the suffix is not provided .US is assumed, i.e. AAPL and AAPL.US are considered the same.

FMP

Cover over 50 exchanges, as well as forex, cryptos, commodities, indexes etc.

All symbols available via FMP will automatically be listed on the FMP view, where it is possible to filter, search and sort.

Examples:

Name  Symbol
Apple AAPL
Berkshire Hathaway Common BRK-A
Dow Jones ^DJI
CAC 40 ^FCHI
FTSE 100 ^FTSE
Treasury Yield 5 Years ^FVX
Bitcoin USD BTCUSD
Gold Futures GCUSD
Crude Oil CLUSD
EUR USD EURUSD
Ping An Bank Co., Ltd. (Shenzen) 000001.SZ
CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (Hong Kong) 0001.HK
Aalborg Boldspilklub A/S (Copenhagen) AAB.CO
AB Science S.A. (Paris) AB.PA
AdAlta Limited (Australia) 1AD.AX
Aberdeen International Inc. (Canada) AAB.TO
etc. etc.

InteractiveBrokers

Given the sheer number of markets and products they support, their symbols are probably the most complicated, but as they all follow the same pattern, once you have one symbol you can work out the rest.

If you are subscribed for the real-time data from Interactive brokers you may work with the symbol via XLQ for day, intraday and historic data. All their symbols require information on the exchange, type and currency which is suffixed to the end of the symbol, and if not provided defaults to [smart,stk,usd] i.e. U.S. equity symbols.

When using SMART, the best pricing from a range of exchanges is returned, but it is also possible to return only the pricing info from a specific exchange e.g. NASDAQ, BATS, ISLAND etc.

It is also possible to specify the primary exchange, e.g. [smart&Nasdaq,stk,usd], which is useful if a symbol is traded on more than 1 exchange to avoid ambiguity.

The simplest way to find a symbol is to enter it into TWS, then right click the row and choose financial instrument info / description. The screen shown will show the symbol, type and currency to use. If spaces are required in the symbol those are also shown but not always easy to determine the exact number, but the text may be selected witht the mouse and copied using ctrl-c.

The symbol for this E-mini future will be NQH4[cme,fut,usd], e.g. = xlqprice("NQH4[cme,fut,usd]","IB")

Future Options security type is FOP

If you have entered a symbol into xlq and it does not work, right click the Q and choose View data / Status and look at the IB status views for any error message associated with the symbol for an explanation.

Examples:

Name  Symbol
Apple AAPL
or AAPL[SMART,STK,USD](provides pricing info from all exchanges)
AAPL[IEX,STK,USD](provides pricing info from IEX exchange only)
Cisco CSCO[SMART&NASDAQ,STK,USD]
(provides pricing info from all exchanges for CSCO listed on Nasdaq)
CSCO[SMART&EBS,STK,USD]
(provides pricing info from all exchanges for CSCO listed on Swiss Electoronic Bourse)
CSCO
(defaulting to csco[smart,stk,usd] will return an ambiguious error from IB in this case)
CSCO[bats,stk,usd]
will return pricing data from bats (not ambiguious as can only be Nasdaq listed CSCO
Berkshire Hathaway Common BRK A
or BRK A[SMART,STK,USD]
Onex Corporation, Toronto OCX[TSE,STK,CAD]
S & P 500 Index SPX[CBOE,IND,USD]
CAC40 PX1[MONEP,IND,EUR]
EUR / USD EUR.USD[IDEALPRO,CASH,USD]
AUD / JPY AUD.JPY[IDEALPRO,CASH,JPY]
Gold (London) XAUUSD[SMART,CMDTY,USD]
Gold Future (October 2015) FGFX OCT 15[DTB,FUT,USD]
Danske Bank Copenhagen DANSKE[CPH,STK,DKK]
Haseko Corporation Tokyo 1808[TSEJ,STK,JPY]
TRIN Nasdaq TRIN-NASD[NASDAQ,IND,USD]
Interest Rate Option on 10year US Treasury Note TNX[CBOE,IND,USD]
10year US Treasury Note December 2015 Future ZN   DEC 15[ECBOT,FUT,USD]
Note 5 char symbol for ECBOT so 3 spaces after ZN
S&P ASX 200 Australia SPI[SNFE,IND,AUD]
Light Sweet Crude Oil CL[NYMEX,IND,USD]
Light Sweet Crude Oil Jan 2016 Future CLF6[NYMEX,FUT,USD]
Light Sweet Crude Oil Jan 2016 Future option (Call $79.5) LOF6 C7950[NYMEX,FOP,USD]
E mini S&P 500 ES[CME,IND,USD]
E mini S&P 500 March 2024 Future ESH4[CME,FUT,USD]
Micro E mini S&P 500 November 2023 Future option (Put 2300) EX3X3 P2300[CME,FOP,USD]
TMX Group Bond Canada IBCID194156925[SMART,BOND,CAD]
More Index Symbols click to see section on index symbols
Option Symbols click to see section on option symbols
Bitcoin BTC.USD[PAXOS,CRYPTO,USD]
Ethereum ETH.USD[PAXOS,CRYPTO,USD]
Litecoin LTC.USD[PAXOS,CRYPTO,USD]
Bitcoin Cash BCH.USD[PAXOS,CRYPTO,USD]

IQFeed

If you subscribe to IQFeed, the symbols available depend on your subscription, which can also be delayed or real-time depending on the exchange fees paid.

Real-time (or delayed) data, intraday and historic is available for US and Canadian equities, options, futures, indexes, forex and market statistics.

The simplest way to find a symbol is to use the resources they provide on their website, i.e.

Examples:

Name  Symbol
Apple AAPL
Berkshire Hathaway Common BRK.A
Onex Corporation, Toronto C.OCX
S & P 500 Index SPX.XO
EUR / USD EURUSD.FXCM
or EURUSD.COMP (TenFore)
TRIN NYSE TRIN.Z
Interest Rate Option on 10year US Treasury Note TNX.XO
Light Sweet Crude Oil Jan 2016 Future QCLF16
Light Sweet Crude Oil Jan 2016 Future option (Call $79.5) QCLF16C7950
E mini S&P 500 @ES#
E mini S&P 500 March 2016 Future @ESH16
E mini S&P 500 March 2016 Future option (Put 1955) @SPH16P195500
More Index Symbols click to see section on index symbols
Option Symbols click to see section on option symbols

Norgate Data

If you have a Norgate subscription and NDU is installed, all symbols available via the subscription will automatically be available and searchable via Norgate view

Data is available for US symbols, US indexes, Australian Symbols, Australian Indexes, world indexes, economic, forex, futures, continuous futures and cash commodities, each as a separate source.

TDAmeritrade

If you have an account with TDAmeritrade you can retrieve real-time, intraday and historic data for US equities and indexes, as well as real-time data (not historic) for US Options.

Symbols are straightforward, with some exceptions

Examples:

Name  Symbol
Apple AAPL
Berkshire Hathaway Common BRK.A
S & P 500 Index $SPX.X
Hillman Group Capital Trust HLM-
ATI Physical Therapy, Inc. Warrants ATIP+
More Index Symbols click to see section on index symbols
Option Symbols click to see section on option symbols

Tiingo

If you have an account with Tiingo and have entered your token into xlq preferences you can retrieve real-time snapshots, and historic data for US and Chinese equities, as well as crypto currency data.

Symbols are as per their site with the exception of crypto-currencies where it is also possible to get the historic data unique for the currency pair.

e.g. btc-usd will include all historic data converted to usd, whereas btc-usd* will only return data where btc has traded directly to usd.

Another example xcp-usd will return all XCP trades converted to USD, xcp-usd* will not return data as there are no direct trades, but you can view direct trades with xcp-btc* etc.

XLQ2

XLQ2 (source) provides real-time snapshot quotes for US equities.

Symbols are straightforward, with some exceptions

Examples:

Name  Symbol
Apple AAPL
Berkshire Hathaway Common BRK.A
Colony Capital Series B CLNY-B

Yahoo

Yahoo provide historic data for many exchanges around the world.

Symbols all follow the same pattern, i.e. indexes start with ^, and symbols other than standard U.S. equities require a suffix e.g. for Canada .TO and .V, for Australia .AX etc. Symbols are as used on the site.

Examples:

Name  Symbol
Apple AAPL
Berkshire Hathaway Common BRK-A
S & P 500 Index ^GSPC
CAC40 ^FCHI
Yamana Gold - Toronto YRI.TO
USD / CAD USDCAD=X
CAD / USD CADUSD=X
Telstra Australia TLS.AX
Volkswagen Germany VOW.DE
More Index Symbols click to see section on index symbols

New Tips and Tricks Page
  • A quick reference guide to using xlq with excel including shortcuts, tips etc.

  • Examples and explanations for all user levels.
Also available via the Resource menu above, along with references for formulae, symbols etc.

LATEST NEWS:

5 December 2023

XLQ2 23.7 released

  • Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) added as new source
    • covers Multiple markets
    • Realtime Snapshot data
    • Historic day / week / month (may be dividend adjusted)
    • Financials
    • Earnings
    • Dividends, splits
    • Historic intraday
    • Insider transactions
    • Subscriptions start at $9.50 per month
    More >>
  • Yahoo - xlqhName and xlqhExchange are now supported.
  • Tiingo - xlqName and xlqExchange are now supported.
  • More. >>

Current Offers

1 year of upgrades included
Purchase xlq2Lite for $159
Purchase xlq2 for $299

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or feel extra has been earned?

Your acknowledgement is appreciated.
Thank you

User Comments

It is so uncommon in this day and age to receive top-level, human support and I appreciate that immensely. The quality, breadth and utility of your product is incredible, but even more impressive is the level of support you provided to me, just one individual customer. You may quote me on that. Thank you.

- C.B.

Wow, you did a lot of work on this version. New interface and other things as well. I must give you credit for being the most responsive software engineer that I've ever encountered. Every question that I've sent you over the many years (since 2003!!!) has been answered quickly and professionally. I just wanted to let you know that it is appreciated.

- M.N.

I have to say Leo that the last two versions have made some tremendous improvements to what has been for years an outstanding application. Thank you for your continued efforts.

- C.A.

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- R.S.

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- P.G.

In only 40 some days XLQ has helped me with a number of research projects I couldn't possibly have done without it and I'm now using it to help manage and track current trades and to alert me to potential new trades.

- D.P.

I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for creating XLQ. I use it regularly for scanning/monitoring securities in Excel 2007.  I have programmed in trailing stops for securities I own and numerous techniques using indicators for securities on my watch list. The combination of Excel 2007 and XLQ has opened up nearly an unlimited capability that is only constrained by my imagination.

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- M.S.

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- W.H.

First, I want to say that your program is probably the finest piece of work I have ever seen. The depth is simply amazing. Congratulations and thanks.

- D.B.

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- H.S.

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- R.S.

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- D.B.

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- D.H.

I have “dabbled” for several years creating many of the things you present in this great program. I first began using the “*.iqy” external query (update times horrendous), then Excel VBA and lately attempting to learn “C” or “C++” in order to have smoother, faster updates as well as a great appearing “front end”. Your program certainly is, by far, the leader and has the greater edge over any I have seen, or tried to accomplish. Thank you for such a great program.

- R.H.

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- D.T.

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- S.C.

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- H.A.

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- D.E.

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- V.P.

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- J.B.

Join the XLQ Users Group

Books

xlq has been recommended in the following:

Definitive Guide to Position Sizing

Van Tharp

Paul King