Ready to unlock a powerful tool for understanding market dynamics on Webull? The Time and Sales window, often called "the tape," is an indispensable resource for active traders. It provides a real-time, granular look at every single trade that occurs for a given security, revealing crucial insights into supply and demand, order flow, and aggressive buying or selling.
If you've ever felt like you're missing a piece of the puzzle when looking at just a chart, Time and Sales is likely that missing piece. It allows you to see who is doing what and when – whether buyers are aggressively snatching up shares at the ask, or sellers are dumping them at the bid. Let's dive in and learn how to master this essential feature on Webull!
Step 1: Accessing the Time and Sales Window on Webull
First things first, let's get you to the right place!
-
On the Webull Desktop Platform:
-
Open your Webull Desktop application.
-
Navigate to the stock you want to analyze by typing its ticker symbol into the search bar.
-
Once on the stock's detail page, you'll typically find the "Time & Sales" widget or tab. It might be located alongside other data like "Order Book," "News," or "Financials." Click on it! If you don't see it immediately, you might need to customize your layout. Look for a "Widgets" or "Add Window" option and search for "Time & Sales."
-
-
On the Webull Mobile App:
-
Open the Webull app on your smartphone or tablet.
-
Search for the stock ticker symbol.
-
On the stock's quote page, swipe through the various tabs (e.g., Chart, Quotes, News, Comments). You should find a tab labeled "Time & Sales." Tap it to open!
-
Once you've opened the Time and Sales window, you'll see a continuous stream of data populating. Don't be overwhelmed – we'll break down what each piece means.
 |
| How To Read Time And Sales On Webull |
Step 2: Understanding the Columns in Time and Sales
The Time and Sales window presents information in several columns. While the exact display might vary slightly depending on your Webull version or customization, the core information remains consistent. Here are the key columns you'll encounter:
2.1. Time
This column shows the exact timestamp when each trade was executed. This is crucial for understanding the speed of transactions and correlating trades with price movements on the chart. You'll often see times down to the millisecond, which is especially important for high-frequency trading.
2.2. Price
This is the price at which the trade occurred. This is the actual execution price, not just the bid or ask.
QuickTip: Slow scrolling helps comprehension.
2.3. Size/Volume
This column indicates the number of shares traded in that specific transaction. A large "size" can signify significant institutional activity or a strong conviction from a large buyer or seller.
2.4. Color Coding: The Key to Interpretation
This is arguably the most important visual cue in the Time and Sales window. Webull, like most platforms, uses color coding to tell you where the trade was executed relative to the current bid and ask prices at that moment.
-
Green Prints (or Bright Green): These indicate that the trade was executed at or near the ask price. This typically suggests aggressive buying, meaning buyers were willing to pay the current asking price to get their order filled immediately. Think of it as buyers "lifting the offer."
-
Red Prints (or Bright Red): These indicate that the trade was executed at or near the bid price. This usually signifies aggressive selling, where sellers were willing to hit the current bid price to unload their shares quickly. This is sellers "hitting the bid."
-
White/Grey/Black Prints: These represent trades that occurred between the bid and ask prices. This can indicate less aggressive trading, where orders might have been filled within the spread, or a large order was filled partially across multiple price levels. The exact color might vary, but the common theme is a "neutral" execution within the spread.
Pro Tip: Sometimes, you'll see even brighter or bolder shades of green and red. Webull often uses these to highlight "large block trades" – unusually big orders that can have a significant impact on price action. Pay close attention to these!
Step 3: Interpreting Time and Sales Data for Trading Decisions
Now that you know what each column means, let's talk about how to use this information to your advantage. Reading Time and Sales is not just about passively observing; it's about actively interpreting the story the tape is telling you.
3.1. Gauging Market Sentiment and Order Flow
-
Dominant Green Prints: If you see a consistent stream of green prints with decent size, it suggests strong buying pressure. Buyers are eager to acquire shares, which could push the price higher.
-
Dominant Red Prints: Conversely, a flurry of red prints, especially with large sizes, points to significant selling pressure. Sellers are keen to exit their positions, potentially driving the price down.
-
Balanced Prints: A mix of green and red prints, especially with smaller sizes, indicates a more balanced market where buyers and sellers are relatively equally matched, often leading to sideways price action.
3.2. Identifying Support and Resistance Levels
Tip: Read at your own pace, not too fast.
-
Support: When a stock approaches a potential support level, observe the Time and Sales. If you see large green prints appearing consistently as the price drops to that level, it suggests strong demand stepping in to prevent further decline.
-
Resistance: At a resistance level, look for large red prints. This indicates sellers are aggressively stepping in to halt the upward movement, often overwhelming buying interest.
3.3. Confirming Breakouts and Breakdowns
-
Breakout Confirmation: When a stock breaks above a resistance level, a surge in green prints with increasing volume on Time and Sales can confirm the strength of the breakout. This shows aggressive buyers pushing the price higher.
-
Breakdown Confirmation: Similarly, if a stock breaks below a support level, a rush of red prints with heavy volume confirms the breakdown, indicating aggressive selling.
3.4. Spotting Exhaustion
Sometimes, even after a strong move, the tape can signal exhaustion.
 |
-
Buying Exhaustion: After a strong upward trend with continuous green prints, if you start seeing smaller green prints, a decrease in the speed of prints, or more red prints appearing at higher prices, it could indicate that buying pressure is fading, and a reversal might be imminent.
-
Selling Exhaustion: After a significant downtrend, if the red prints become smaller, the speed of the tape slows, or you start seeing more green prints at lower prices, it might signal that selling pressure is weakening, and a bounce could be coming.
Step 4: Customizing Your Time and Sales View
Webull offers some customization options to tailor the Time and Sales window to your preferences. While these can vary by platform (desktop vs. mobile), look for settings or gear icons within the Time and Sales window.
-
Filtering by Size: You might be able to filter out smaller trades to focus only on larger, more significant transactions. This helps cut through the noise.
-
Highlighting Large Trades: Webull often automatically highlights large trades, but you might be able to set your own thresholds for what constitutes a "large" trade.
-
Displaying Exchange Information (MPID): For advanced traders, some market data subscriptions (like NASDAQ TotalView, which Webull offers) can display the Market Participant Identifier (MPID) – the exchange or market maker where the trade occurred. This can offer deeper insights into order routing and liquidity.
Step 5: Practice, Practice, Practice!
Reading Time and Sales effectively is a skill that develops with experience. It's like learning to read a new language; at first, it's just a jumble of characters, but with time, you start to recognize patterns and understand the meaning behind them.
-
Paper Trading: Webull offers a fantastic paper trading feature. Use it! Practice watching the Time and Sales in a simulated environment without risking real capital. This is the best way to get comfortable with the rhythm and nuances of the tape.
-
Correlate with Charts and Level 2: Don't view Time and Sales in isolation. Always have your chart open, and ideally, Level 2 market data as well.
-
Charts: See how the tape's activity translates into candlestick patterns and price movements.
-
Level 2: Level 2 (the order book) shows you the pending buy and sell orders at various price levels, while Time and Sales shows you the executed orders. Together, they provide a comprehensive view of supply and demand.
-
Final Thoughts
The Time and Sales window on Webull is a powerful, real-time tool that provides an unfiltered view of market activity. By understanding its components and practicing its interpretation, you can gain a significant edge in your trading, making more informed decisions about entries, exits, and understanding underlying market sentiment. Happy trading!
Tip: Read actively — ask yourself questions as you go.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Reading Time and Sales on Webull
How to distinguish aggressive buying from aggressive selling on Webull's Time and Sales?
-
Aggressive buying is typically indicated by a predominance of green prints (trades executed at or near the ask price). These suggest buyers are willing to pay up to get their orders filled immediately.
-
Aggressive selling is shown by a dominance of red prints (trades executed at or near the bid price). This means sellers are willing to hit the bid to offload their shares quickly.
How to use Time and Sales to identify potential reversals?
Look for a change in the dominant color and size of prints. For example, after a strong uptrend with mostly green prints, if you start seeing a significant increase in red prints or smaller green prints with less speed, it could signal that buying pressure is weakening and a reversal might be underway. The opposite applies for downtrends.
How to identify large institutional orders using Time and Sales?
Look for unusually large print sizes in the "Size/Volume" column. Webull often highlights these with bolder colors (brighter green or red). These large "block trades" can indicate institutional activity, which can move the market.
How to combine Time and Sales with Level 2 data on Webull?
Time and Sales shows executed trades, while Level 2 shows pending orders (the order book). Use Time and Sales to see who is currently in control (buyers or sellers) by observing aggressive prints, and use Level 2 to identify where support and resistance are building from pending orders. For example, if you see large bid orders on Level 2 at a certain price, and then Time and Sales shows a lot of green prints being filled just above that bid, it confirms strong buying interest protecting that level.
Tip: Share this article if you find it helpful.
How to adjust the display settings of Time and Sales on Webull?
Look for a settings icon (often a gear) within the Time and Sales widget or tab. Here, you might find options to filter trades by size, change color schemes, or adjust the refresh rate. Customization options can vary between the desktop and mobile versions.
How to use Time and Sales during volatile market conditions?
During high volatility, the tape will move very fast. Focus on the size and speed of the prints. A rapid succession of large, aggressive prints (either green or red) confirms the intensity of the move. Smaller, choppier prints indicate indecision or profit-taking.
How to differentiate between real volume and "wash" trades on Time and Sales?
While Webull's Time and Sales shows executed trades, identifying "wash" trades (where an individual or entity simultaneously buys and sells the same security to create misleading activity) is very difficult for retail traders using only Time and Sales. This often requires sophisticated algorithmic analysis. Focus on the genuine supply and demand signals presented by aggressive buyers and sellers.
How to use Time and Sales for scalping strategies?
Scalpers rely heavily on Time and Sales for quick entries and exits. They look for rapid sequences of aggressive prints to confirm short-term momentum. For instance, a burst of large green prints indicates strong upward momentum for a quick long entry, while a sudden rush of red prints signals a potential short opportunity.
How to interpret the speed of the Time and Sales prints?
The speed at which new prints appear is a direct indication of trading activity. A fast-moving tape (many prints per second) signifies high liquidity and strong interest in the stock, often preceding or accompanying significant price movements. A slow tape indicates low interest and shallow liquidity.
How to use Time and Sales to confirm breakouts or breakdowns?
For a breakout, look for an acceleration of large green prints as the price surpasses a resistance level, indicating strong buying conviction. For a breakdown, observe a surge of large red prints as the price falls below a support level, confirming aggressive selling. Without this tape confirmation, a break could be a false move.
 |
