# Desk badges: DELAYED, NO DATA, STALE and HALTED

> What the session dot and the DELAYED, NO DATA and STALE badges mean on a Scalpel desk, what the HALTED banner shows, and what to do about each one.

Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/desk-status-badges
Guide 2.5, Desks and layout. Beginner, 5 min read.
Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team.

**In short:**

Each loaded desk shows the market session (**PRE**, **RTH**, **AFTER** or **CLOSED**) and, only when its data is not live, a badge: **DELAYED** (amber) means IBKR is sending 15-minute delayed quotes, **NO DATA** means nothing has arrived since the stock loaded, and **STALE** means no update for 12 seconds. A red **HALTED** strip under the header means the exchange has stopped trading the stock, with the reason and a timer. Do not trade from a desk showing any of them until you know why.

Scalpel's reads, sizes and stops all work from the live feed. A badge is Scalpel telling you that feed is late, missing or paused, so whatever the desk shows may not be the market right now.

**Before you start:**

- A symbol loaded on a desk ([guide 2.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/load-symbols-and-desks)).

## Where to look

The status sits in the desk header, right of the **Symbol** box. A healthy desk shows just a coloured dot and the session. A badge appears beside it when something is off; only one shows at a time, in the order **DELAYED**, **NO DATA**, **STALE**.

*Screenshot: Four desks: live in regular hours (1), delayed data in the pre-market (2), nothing received yet (3), and a feed gone quiet after hours (4). Demo data.*

## The session tag

The session is the US market's, in New York time, so every desk shows the same one:

| Tag | Dot | Hours (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| **PRE** | Amber | Pre-market, 04:00 to 09:30 |
| **RTH** | Green | Regular trading hours, 09:30 to 16:00 (13:00 on a half day) |
| **AFTER** | Amber | After-hours, 16:00 to 20:00 (17:00 on a half day) |
| **CLOSED** | Grey | Overnight, weekends and market holidays |

Scalpel is built first for the pre-market, when the momentum gappers move. Outside regular hours the books are thinner, spreads are wider and prices jump further between trades, so read **PRE** and **AFTER** as "size down". With the market **CLOSED** the order bar is greyed out and entries are blocked ([guide 13.13](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-order-bar-greyed-out)).

## The data badges

| Badge | Colour | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| **DELAYED** | Amber | IBKR is sending delayed quotes for this stock, usually 15 minutes old, because the account has no real-time subscription for its exchange. | Do not trade it, not even in SIM: the book, tape and fills would be 15 minutes behind. Add the real-time US stock subscriptions in IBKR's Client Portal, and if you use a paper account, share the live account's data with it ([guide 13.4](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-delayed-data)). |
| **NO DATA** | Grey | Nothing at all (no quote, trade or book update) has arrived since the stock loaded. | Wait a couple of seconds after loading. If it stays, check the **IBKR** pill in the status bar says **Connected** ([guide 13.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-disconnected)), and that the ticker is a US stock your account can get data for. |
| **STALE** | Grey | No quote, trade or book update for 12 seconds. | On a thin stock in the pre-market or after-hours this can simply mean nobody is trading it. If **every** desk goes stale at once, the link to TWS or IB Gateway has stalled: check the status bar and TWS. |

**Careful: A quiet feed means a quiet stop.**

Scalpel's stops are watched by Scalpel from the live trades, not left at the broker ([guide 5.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/how-stops-work)). While a desk is **STALE**, no trades are arriving, so a stop cannot fire until one prints. If price has moved in the meantime, the first print can be well through your stop.

## HALTED

When the exchange halts a stock, a red strip opens under the desk's header with the word **HALTED**, the reason, and a timer counting since Scalpel saw the halt. A red toast says the same, for example **PQRS halted: Volatility pause (LULD)**, with a sound.

*Screenshot: A volatility pause: the red HALTED strip with the reason and the 2:14 timer, and the toast. Demo data.*

The reason is one of two:

- **Volatility pause (LULD)**: the price moved outside its limit up or limit down band. These pauses normally last 5 minutes, and small caps that spike on news get them often, sometimes several in a row.
- **Trading halted by the exchange**: a regulatory or news-pending halt. These can last much longer, and the stock can reopen far from where it stopped.

While the stock is halted, Scalpel blocks buys on it: the buy buttons on the order bar grey out, and a buy key is refused with a red toast, **PQRS is halted: buys are blocked until it resumes**. A halted stock reopens with an auction, often far from the last price, so no entry can sit queued for that moment. Sells are not blocked.

When trading resumes, the strip goes away, buys work again and a green toast says **PQRS resumed trading**.

While a stock is halted, no trades print, so your stop on it cannot fire. When it reopens, the first trade can be far above or below the last one, and an exit then fills at the reopening price, not at your stop. If you hold a halted stock, decide before the reopen what you will do if it opens against you.

## Depth unavailable

Not a badge but a toast: **Depth unavailable for** the symbol, followed by IBKR's reason. The desk has no Level 2 book, usually because your account has reached its limit of books streaming at once. The quote, tape and chart still work. Clear or hide a desk you do not need, then reload the stock ([guide 2.2](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/arrange-desks#the-depth-limit)).

## Questions

**What does DELAYED mean on a Scalpel desk?**

Interactive Brokers is sending delayed quotes for that stock, usually 15 minutes old, because your account has no real-time subscription for its exchange. Add the subscription, and share it with your paper account if you use one.

**Why does a desk say STALE?**

Nothing has updated for 12 seconds. On a thin stock outside regular hours that can be normal. If every desk is stale at once, the connection to TWS or IB Gateway has stalled.

**What is a LULD halt?**

A limit up limit down volatility pause: the stock moved outside its allowed price band, and trading stops for normally 5 minutes. Scalpel shows it as HALTED with Volatility pause (LULD) and a timer.

**Does my stop work during a halt?**

It stays armed, but it cannot fire while no trades print. When the stock reopens, the exit fills at whatever price trading resumes at, which can be well through your stop.

**Can I buy a halted stock in Scalpel?**

No. Buys are blocked from the moment Scalpel sees the halt until trading resumes: the buy buttons grey out and a buy key is refused with a toast. You can still sell.

**Can I trade in SIM with delayed data?**

Don't. SIM fills against the book Scalpel shows, so with delayed data your practice fills would be 15 minutes behind the real market and teach you the wrong habits.