Holidays

All actions involving holidays occur at the Aspen Graphics server.

On national holidays, some exchanges do not open.  Others close early.  Consequently, a holiday can cause a gap in your charts. Aspen Graphics not only lets you suppress holidays, it lets you suppress different holidays on different exchanges.  This means you can suppress United States holidays for instruments that trade in the United States, British holidays for British instruments, and so on.

If an exchange does not open on a national holiday, a holiday will be shown as a gap on daily, intraday, and tick charts.

If an exchange closes early on a national holiday, intraday and tick charts will show gaps for all times after the exchange closes.

In both situations, you can eliminate gaps caused by holidays using one or two holiday lists.

Assigning a Holiday List to an Exchange

Each exchange on the exchange filter has an exchange information window.

To display the exchange information window, follow these steps:

1. Display the exchange filter by typing .EXCH and pressing enter at an Aspen Graphics server or standalone.
    

2. Highlight the exchange code (in the Exchange column) for  which you want to display the exchange information window.
    

3. Press Enter or click the left mouse key.

The Holiday List field in the exchange information window specifies which holiday list governs the exchange.  A holiday list contains several dates that are holidays. For example, the American Holidays list contains holidays observed by U. S. exchanges while the London Futures list contains holidays observed by the London Futures exchanges.  Any holiday list can be assigned to any exchange on your exchange filter.  Assigning a list to an exchange causes Aspen Graphics to exclude holidays in the list from charts on instruments from the exchange.

The holidays feature lets you set one- or two-level holiday filtration.  By default, all exchanges use the Global Holidays list.  If you upgraded from an earlier version of Aspen Graphics to version 3.60b or later, the Global Holidays list consists of the holidays you have already defined.  During the upgrade, Aspen Graphics converts the dates in your previous version to your current version Global Holidays list, so any work you your work is not lost.  If you are a new user, the Global Holidays list is empty.

Because Global Holidays is the default setting, the holidays you define serve as the only operable holiday filter.  As you start using later versions of Aspen Graphics, you can continue using your Global Holidays list, use an alternative holiday list, or combine the filtration provided by the Global Holidays list with any other existing or defined Holiday list.

The way this works is simple; however, to make the holiday filters meet your needs, you need to know how the filters work together.  When you get version 2.27 running, whether you are a new subscriber or an experienced user, the Global Holidays list is the operable filter.  As you begin using 2.27, you may want to take advantage of other holiday filters.

The holidays feature provides you with a primary filter and a secondary filter.  The primary filter is the Global Holidays toggle on the bottom of the Holiday Lists menu:

If you turn the Global Holidays toggle to ON, all exchanges utilize the Global Holidays filter.  If you turn the Global Holidays toggle to OFF, none of the exchanges use the Global Holidays list as a primary filter; however, you can still assign the Global Holidays list as to any exchange as a secondary filter.

The secondary filter is the Holiday List field in the Exchange Information window:

By default, the Global Holidays toggle is ON, and the Holiday List field in the Exchange Information window is set to Global Holidays.  With this configuration, Aspen Graphics would, ordinarily, filter holidays twice using the Global Holidays filter.

You will probably want to apply the filtration possibilities to meet your specific needs.  For example, suppose you watch equities that trade in London and New York.  You could set leave the New York Stock Exchange set to Global Holidays and apply a secondary list of holidays to the London Stock Exchange:

The primary filter (the Global Holidays ON toggle) applies the holidays in your Global Holidays list to the London Stock Exchange.  Once Aspen Graphics applies the Global Holidays list to the LSE, it then applies the holidays in the London Stocks list to the LSE.  In this way, you benefit from two levels of holiday filtration.

Meanwhile, the Global Holidays toggle is also filtering holidays from the New York Stock Exchange.  If you leave the Global Holidays list as the NYSE's secondary filter, the only holidays excluded from a chart on an NYSE instrument are the dates in the Global Holidays list.  This may meet your needs initially, but you may find it helpful to apply the American Holidays list as secondary filter to the NYSE, or to create a list specifically designed for the NYSE and apply it as a secondary filter.

By contrast, suppose you watch futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and you are only concerned with American holidays observed by the CME.  By modifying the American Holidays list to contain only those holidays observed at the CME, you could turn the Global Holidays toggle OFF and apply the American Holidays list to the CME as follows:

Therefore, Aspen Graphics no longer uses the Global Holidays list as a primary filter.  The American Holidays list serves as the only holiday filter for the CME.

These examples show two ways you can use the holidays feature to create the market perspective your trading system requires.  To take full advantage of the holidays feature, take a few minutes to assess your holiday filtration needs.  Then figure out whether you would be better served by using one-level or two-level holiday filtration.  The following pages provide you with step-by-step instructions for setting up both one- and two-level holiday filtration.

The key to the holiday feature is the content of your holiday lists.  We attempt to provide you with holiday sets you can use to get started.  However, you will need to maintain these lists from time to time.

Two-Level Filtration

Setting two-level filtration involves two tasks:  displaying the Holiday Lists menu and turning the Global Holidays toggle to ON, and displaying the exchange filter and assigning a holiday list to an exchange.  You perform the second task in an Exchange Information menu; you can perform both tasks in the exchange filter.

The Global Holidays toggle is the primary filter.  Turning this toggle ON applies the Global Holidays list to all exchanges.

You only need to turn the Global Holidays toggle ON once.  When you turn this toggle ON, Aspen Graphics applies the Global Holidays list to all exchanges.

Once you turn the Global Holidays toggle ON, you visit the Exchange Information menu of each exchange you watch and select a secondary holiday filter.  You can select any of the following pre-defined holiday lists as a secondary holiday filter:

• American Holidays

• Amsterdam Holidays

• Australian Holidays

• Belgian Holidays

• Brazil Holidays

• CEC Holidays

• CME Holidays

• Canadian Holidays

• China Holidays

• Danish Holidays

• Finnish Holidays

• Forex

• French Holidays

• German Holidays

• Hong Kong Holidays

• IPE Holidays

• India Holidays

• Japanese Holidays

• Korean Holidays

• LIFFE Holidays

• London Futures

• London Stocks

• Malaysian Holidays

• NYMEX Holidays

• New Zealand Holidays

• Norwegian Holidays

• Philippine Holidays

• Portuguese Holidays

• SFE Holidays

• Singapore Holidays

• Spanish Holidays

• Spanish Stock Exchange

• Swedish Holidays

• Swiss Holidays

• Taiwan Holidays

• Thailand Holidays

• US Gov't Holidays

• US Stocks

If you have defined a holiday list, you can select it as a secondary filter.

A secondary filter is a holiday list that Aspen Graphics checks after checking the Global Holidays list.  Using a secondary filter lets you have two levels of filtration.  Logically, the Global Holidays list should contain holidays that are observed by most exchanges in most countries.  The Global Holidays list always serves as the primary holiday filter, so if you have not done so, you should modify it to include those holidays observed by markets the world over.  The second level holiday filter identifies holidays that are observed by a specific country or by a specific exchange.  We have defined several secondary filters for you.  A secondary filter can be any of the pre-defined holiday lists we have provided or a holiday list that you have defined.

To set two-level holiday filtration, follow these steps:

1. Display the Exchange Filter.
    

2. Select the exchange you want to set up.
   
   The Exchange Information window is displayed.
    

3. Click on the Holidays list field. The Holidays List menu is displayed.
    

4. Turn the Global Holidays toggle ON.  (By default, the Global Holidays toggle is ON.)
   
   Global Holidays list becomes the primary filter.
    

5. Select the holiday list you want to use as the Secondary filter for the exchange. T he Holiday List menu disappears; the holiday list you selected is displayed in the Holiday List field in the exchange information window.
    

Repeat steps 1, 2, 3, and 5 for each exchange you watch.

One-Level Filtration

If you switch the Global Holidays toggle to OFF, the holiday list in the Exchange Information Holiday List field serves as the only holiday filter.  Therefore, Aspen Graphics suppresses only the holidays listed in the that list.

To set up a one-level holiday filtration, follow these steps:

1. Display the Exchange Filter.
    

2. Select the exchange you want to set up.
    

3. Move the cursor down the Exchange column to the exchange you want to set.
    

4. Click on the exchange abbreviation in the exchange column that you want to set.
   
   The Exchange Information window is displayed.
    

5. Click on the Holidays list field. The Holidays List menu is displayed.
    

6. Turn the Global Holidays toggle OFF.
   
   Position the mouse pointer over the selection and click the left mouse key to turn the Global Holidays toggle to OFF.
   Move the highlight to the Global Holidays toggle and press Enter to turn the toggle to OFF. The selection changes to Global Holidays OFF; the Global Holidays list is not used to filter holidays.
    

7. Select the holiday list you want to use as the sole holiday filter for the exchange.
    

Repeat steps 1, 2, 3, and 5 for each exchange you watch.

The Holiday List menu disappears, and the holiday list you selected is displayed in the Holiday List field in the exchange information window.  The Global Holidays list no longer filters holidays.  In this way, the Secondary list you select serves as the sole holiday filter for the exchange.

No Filtration

Many exchanges are adapting twenty-four hour trading.  In an effort to anticipate possible dilemmas posed by new hours in a world-wide market, We have designed holidays by exchange so it can operate without primary or secondary holiday filtration.

To set an exchange to no holiday filtration, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Holiday List field.
    

2. Select No Holidays from the Holidays List menu.

The Holiday List menu disappears; no holidays are excluded from intraday charts on instruments from the exchange.

The No Holidays list overrides the Global List; therefore, no holidays will apply to an exchange to which the No Holidays list is assigned.

Holiday Maintenance

You maintain your holiday lists through the Maintenance Menu.  Selecting Holiday Lists displays the Holiday List menu.  When you display the Holiday List Menu from the Maintenance menu, you can maintain holidays in any of a variety of ways:

• Insert Holidays into an existing holiday list.

• Delete Holidays from an existing holiday list.

• Create a new holiday list.

• Delete a holiday list.

With the exception of deleting a holiday list, these maintenance functions can be performed when a holiday list is assigned to an exchange in the exchange filter.

Although Aspen Graphics provides you with a variety of pre-set holiday lists, these lists are sent to you empty.  The reason the lists are empty is that an incorrect date entered in any holiday list can adversely impact historical charts.  If an incorrect date exists, you will not see intraday data on the incorrect date, and if the End of Day process occurs, historical charts will show a gap on the incorrect date.  It is very important, therefore, that you know which dates an exchange will observe as holidays and that you enter these dates in the correct holiday list.  There are many sources of information on holidays observed by U. S. and foreign exchanges.  Please make a note of these sources and use them to build your holiday lists.

Futures Magazine (Editorial, Sales, and Marketing Offices, 250 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1150, Chicago, IL, 60606, (312) 977-0999; New York Sales Office, 160 Broadway, Suite 700, New York, NY 10038 (212) 608-6786) publishes a calendar every issue that contains domestic and foreign holidays.  Additionally, Futures Magazine publishes an annual Trader's Calendar.  Some trading houses also provide information on holidays.

Inserting a Holiday

To enter a date in a holiday set, follow these steps:

1. Display the holidays list by typing .HOLIDAY and press Enter.
    

2. Select the holiday list into which you want to enter a date.
   
   A Holidays menu is displayed; the title of the menu indicates the holiday set you selected.  
    

3. Select View/Edit Holidays.
    

4. Press Insert. An empty entry box is displayed.
    

5. Enter the holiday you want to insert in MM/DD/YY format.
    

6. Press Enter.

The date is inserted into the holiday set.  If the date you enter falls on a weekend, a message is displayed to inform you the weekend day on which the entered date falls.  Ordinarily, a holiday is observed on the nearest week day if it falls on a weekend.

Deleting a Date in a List

To delete a date in the holidays window, follow these steps:

1. Display the holidays list by typing .HOLIDAY and press Enter.
    

2. Select the holiday list containing the date you want to delete.
   
   A Holidays menu is displayed; the title of the menu indicates the holiday set you selected.
    

3. Select View/Edit Holidays.
    

4. Highlight the holiday you want to delete.
    

5. Press Delete. The highlighted holiday is deleted.

Creating a Holiday List

Occasionally, you will find it necessary to create a new holiday list.  For example, under normal circumstances, all U. S. exchanges observe the holidays in the American Holidays list.  However, in the Spring of 1992, the basement of the Chicago Board of Trade flooded, so the CBOT closed.  To accommodate these CBOT closure dates, you would need to create a new holiday list for the CBOT because adding the dates to the American Holidays list would affect all the exchanges to which the American Holidays list is assigned.

Creating a new holiday list is easy because Aspen Graphics lets you copy an existing list to define a new list.  This lets you take advantage of known holidays.  For example, to create a holiday list for the CBOT, you can copy the American Holidays list and then add the dates on which the CBOT was closed.

To create a new holiday list, follow these steps:

1. Display the holidays list by typing .HOLIDAY and press Enter.
    

2. Select the holiday list containing the holidays you want to copy (For an empty list, select No Holidays.)
    

3. Select Create a New Holiday List. The List Name --> prompt is displayed.
    

4. Type the name you want  to give to the list you are creating.
    

5. Press Enter.
   
   The new holiday list is inserted into to Holidays List menu.

After you create a holiday list, the new list can be assigned to any exchange in the exchange filter.  For more information on assigning a holiday list to an exchange, see Assigning a Holiday List to an Exchange.

Deleting a Holiday List

Of all the holiday list maintenance functions, deleting a holiday list is the only function that cannot be performed when the holiday list you want to delete is assigned to an exchange.  Furthermore, you cannot delete any of the pre-defined holiday lists; you can only delete holiday lists that you have created.  If you attempt to delete a holiday list that is assigned to an exchange, Aspen Graphics displays a message that tells you the exchange to which the holiday list is assigned.  

To delete a holiday list, follow these steps:

1. Display the holidays list. Type .HOLIDAY and press Enter.
    

2. Select the holiday list containing the holidays you want to delete.
    

3. Select DELETE Holiday List.
   
   The holiday list you selected in step 2 is deleted.

Using Holidays to Correct Bad Ticks

Occasionally, an exchange will send a price down on the weekend.  Sometimes the price is out of range and causes a bad tick to appear on daily and weekly charts.  This phenomenon is easy to identify.  If a bad tick on a daily chart registers on a Monday or a Friday, the incorrect price probably is the result of a weekend transmission.

Unfortunately, you cannot correct a bad tick that occurred on a weekend, for daily charts do not display Saturdays and Sundays.  To correct a bad tick that occurred on a weekend, therefore, you must make the weekend dates holidays.