diff --git a/dashboard/src/pages/Backtest.tsx b/dashboard/src/pages/Backtest.tsx
index 3071616..48e6bba 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/pages/Backtest.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/pages/Backtest.tsx
@@ -4,11 +4,14 @@ import client from '../api/client';
 import { EquityCurve } from '../components/EquityCurve';
 import { MetricsRow } from '../components/MetricsRow';
 
+const DEFAULT_TICKERS = ['AAPL', 'TSLA', 'NVDA', 'MSFT', 'GOOGL'];
+
 interface BacktestConfig {
   start_date: string;
   end_date: string;
   initial_capital: number;
   strategies: string[];
+  tickers: string[];
 }
 
 interface BacktestResult {
@@ -37,6 +40,8 @@ export default function Backtest() {
   const [endDate, setEndDate] = useState('2026-01-01');
   const [initialCapital, setInitialCapital] = useState(100000);
   const [selectedStrategies, setSelectedStrategies] = useState<string[]>([]);
+  const [selectedTickers, setSelectedTickers] = useState<string[]>([...DEFAULT_TICKERS]);
+  const [customTicker, setCustomTicker] = useState('');
   const [currentRunId, setCurrentRunId] = useState<string | null>(null);
 
   const { data: strategyOptions } = useQuery<StrategyOption[]>({
@@ -74,12 +79,13 @@ export default function Backtest() {
   });
 
   const handleSubmit = () => {
-    if (!startDate || !endDate || selectedStrategies.length === 0) return;
+    if (!startDate || !endDate || selectedStrategies.length === 0 || selectedTickers.length === 0) return;
     runMutation.mutate({
       start_date: startDate,
       end_date: endDate,
       initial_capital: initialCapital,
       strategies: selectedStrategies,
+      tickers: selectedTickers,
     });
   };
 
@@ -89,6 +95,20 @@ export default function Backtest() {
     );
   };
 
+  const toggleTicker = (ticker: string) => {
+    setSelectedTickers((prev) =>
+      prev.includes(ticker) ? prev.filter((t) => t !== ticker) : [...prev, ticker]
+    );
+  };
+
+  const addCustomTicker = () => {
+    const ticker = customTicker.trim().toUpperCase();
+    if (ticker && !selectedTickers.includes(ticker)) {
+      setSelectedTickers((prev) => [...prev, ticker]);
+    }
+    setCustomTicker('');
+  };
+
   const metricsDisplay = result?.metrics
     ? [
         {
@@ -132,7 +152,7 @@ export default function Backtest() {
         <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold text-white mb-4">
           Configuration
         </h3>
-        <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-4 gap-4 mb-6">
+        <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-4 mb-6">
           <div>
             <label className="block text-xs text-slate-400 mb-1">
               Start Date
@@ -168,6 +188,9 @@ export default function Backtest() {
               className="w-full px-3 py-2 bg-slate-700 border border-slate-600 rounded-lg text-white text-sm focus:outline-none focus:ring-1 focus:ring-blue-500"
             />
           </div>
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-4 mb-6">
           <div>
             <label className="block text-xs text-slate-400 mb-1">
               Strategies
@@ -191,6 +214,61 @@ export default function Backtest() {
               )}
             </div>
           </div>
+
+          <div>
+            <label className="block text-xs text-slate-400 mb-1">
+              Tickers
+            </label>
+            <div className="space-y-2 mt-1">
+              {DEFAULT_TICKERS.map((ticker) => (
+                <label
+                  key={ticker}
+                  className="flex items-center gap-2 cursor-pointer"
+                >
+                  <input
+                    type="checkbox"
+                    checked={selectedTickers.includes(ticker)}
+                    onChange={() => toggleTicker(ticker)}
+                    className="w-4 h-4 rounded border-slate-600 bg-slate-700 text-blue-600 focus:ring-blue-500"
+                  />
+                  <span className="text-sm text-slate-300">{ticker}</span>
+                </label>
+              ))}
+              {selectedTickers
+                .filter((t) => !DEFAULT_TICKERS.includes(t))
+                .map((ticker) => (
+                  <label
+                    key={ticker}
+                    className="flex items-center gap-2 cursor-pointer"
+                  >
+                    <input
+                      type="checkbox"
+                      checked
+                      onChange={() => toggleTicker(ticker)}
+                      className="w-4 h-4 rounded border-slate-600 bg-slate-700 text-blue-600 focus:ring-blue-500"
+                    />
+                    <span className="text-sm text-slate-300">{ticker}</span>
+                  </label>
+                ))}
+              <div className="flex items-center gap-2 mt-2">
+                <input
+                  type="text"
+                  value={customTicker}
+                  onChange={(e) => setCustomTicker(e.target.value)}
+                  onKeyDown={(e) => e.key === 'Enter' && addCustomTicker()}
+                  placeholder="Add ticker..."
+                  className="w-28 px-2 py-1 bg-slate-700 border border-slate-600 rounded text-white text-sm focus:outline-none focus:ring-1 focus:ring-blue-500"
+                />
+                <button
+                  type="button"
+                  onClick={addCustomTicker}
+                  className="px-2 py-1 bg-slate-600 hover:bg-slate-500 text-white text-sm rounded transition-colors"
+                >
+                  +
+                </button>
+              </div>
+            </div>
+          </div>
         </div>
 
         <button
@@ -198,6 +276,7 @@ export default function Backtest() {
           disabled={
             runMutation.isPending ||
             selectedStrategies.length === 0 ||
+            selectedTickers.length === 0 ||
             !startDate ||
             !endDate
           }
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 79b3136..6ee20eb 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ dependencies = [
 ]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
-api = ["fastapi>=0.110", "uvicorn[standard]>=0.27", "websockets>=12.0", "webauthn>=2.0", "pyjwt[crypto]>=2.8"]
+api = ["fastapi>=0.110", "uvicorn[standard]>=0.27", "websockets>=12.0", "webauthn>=2.0", "pyjwt[crypto]>=2.8", "alpaca-py>=0.21"]
 news = ["feedparser>=6.0", "praw>=7.7", "asyncpraw>=7.7", "httpx>=0.27"]
 sentiment = ["transformers>=4.38", "torch>=2.2", "ollama>=0.1"]
 trading = ["alpaca-py>=0.21", "pytz>=2024.1", "yfinance>=0.2", "httpx>=0.27"]
diff --git a/services/api_gateway/routes/backtest.py b/services/api_gateway/routes/backtest.py
index 9050864..49f0cd0 100644
--- a/services/api_gateway/routes/backtest.py
+++ b/services/api_gateway/routes/backtest.py
@@ -20,6 +20,39 @@ router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/backtest", tags=["backtest"])
 # Store references to background tasks to prevent garbage collection
 _background_tasks: set[asyncio.Task] = set()
 
+# All available strategy classes keyed by name
+_STRATEGY_REGISTRY: dict[str, type] | None = None
+
+
+def _get_strategy_registry() -> dict[str, type]:
+    """Lazy-load strategy classes to avoid import-time side effects."""
+    global _STRATEGY_REGISTRY
+    if _STRATEGY_REGISTRY is None:
+        from shared.strategies import (
+            MomentumStrategy,
+            MeanReversionStrategy,
+            NewsDrivenStrategy,
+            ValueStrategy,
+            MACDCrossoverStrategy,
+            BollingerBreakoutStrategy,
+            VWAPStrategy,
+            LiquidityStrategy,
+            MAStackStrategy,
+        )
+
+        _STRATEGY_REGISTRY = {
+            "momentum": MomentumStrategy,
+            "mean_reversion": MeanReversionStrategy,
+            "news_driven": NewsDrivenStrategy,
+            "value": ValueStrategy,
+            "macd_crossover": MACDCrossoverStrategy,
+            "bollinger_breakout": BollingerBreakoutStrategy,
+            "vwap": VWAPStrategy,
+            "liquidity": LiquidityStrategy,
+            "ma_stack": MAStackStrategy,
+        }
+    return _STRATEGY_REGISTRY
+
 
 class BacktestRequest(BaseModel):
     """Request body for starting a new backtest."""
@@ -29,7 +62,8 @@ class BacktestRequest(BaseModel):
     initial_capital: float = Field(default=100_000.0, gt=0)
     commission_per_trade: float = Field(default=0.0, ge=0)
     slippage_pct: float = Field(default=0.001, ge=0)
-    strategy_weights: dict[str, float] = Field(default_factory=dict)
+    strategies: list[str] = Field(default_factory=list)
+    tickers: list[str] = Field(default_factory=lambda: ["AAPL", "TSLA", "NVDA", "MSFT", "GOOGL"])
     max_position_pct: float = Field(default=0.05, gt=0, le=1.0)
     signal_threshold: float = Field(default=0.3, ge=0, le=1.0)
 
@@ -47,12 +81,14 @@ async def run_backtest(
     """
     run_id = str(uuid.uuid4())
     redis = request.app.state.redis
+    config = request.app.state.config
 
     # Store initial status
     await redis.setex(
         f"backtest:{run_id}",
         86400,  # 24h TTL
         json.dumps({
+            "run_id": run_id,
             "status": "running",
             "config": body.model_dump(mode="json"),
             "started_at": datetime.now(tz=timezone.utc).isoformat(),
@@ -60,7 +96,7 @@ async def run_backtest(
     )
 
     # Launch background task (stored in set to prevent GC)
-    task = asyncio.create_task(_run_backtest_task(run_id, body, redis))
+    task = asyncio.create_task(_run_backtest_task(run_id, body, redis, config))
     _background_tasks.add(task)
     task.add_done_callback(_background_tasks.discard)
 
@@ -71,14 +107,57 @@ async def _run_backtest_task(
     run_id: str,
     config: BacktestRequest,
     redis,
+    app_config,
 ) -> None:
     """Execute the backtest in the background and store results in Redis."""
     try:
         from backtester.config import BacktestConfig
+        from backtester.data_loader import BacktestDataLoader
         from backtester.engine import BacktestEngine
-        from shared.strategies.momentum import MomentumStrategy
-        from shared.strategies.mean_reversion import MeanReversionStrategy
-        from shared.strategies.news_driven import NewsDrivenStrategy
+
+        # ---- Fetch historical bars from Alpaca ----
+        bars = await _fetch_alpaca_bars(
+            tickers=config.tickers,
+            start=config.start_date,
+            end=config.end_date,
+            api_key=app_config.alpaca_api_key,
+            secret_key=app_config.alpaca_secret_key,
+        )
+
+        if not bars:
+            await redis.setex(
+                f"backtest:{run_id}",
+                86400,
+                json.dumps({
+                    "run_id": run_id,
+                    "status": "failed",
+                    "error": "No historical bar data returned from Alpaca. Check tickers and date range.",
+                }),
+            )
+            return
+
+        data_loader = BacktestDataLoader(bars=bars)
+
+        # ---- Build strategy list ----
+        registry = _get_strategy_registry()
+        strategy_names = config.strategies or list(registry.keys())
+        strategies = [
+            registry[name]()
+            for name in strategy_names
+            if name in registry
+        ]
+
+        if not strategies:
+            await redis.setex(
+                f"backtest:{run_id}",
+                86400,
+                json.dumps({
+                    "run_id": run_id,
+                    "status": "failed",
+                    "error": f"No valid strategies selected. Available: {list(registry.keys())}",
+                }),
+            )
+            return
 
         bt_config = BacktestConfig(
             start_date=config.start_date,
@@ -86,44 +165,35 @@ async def _run_backtest_task(
             initial_capital=config.initial_capital,
             commission_per_trade=config.commission_per_trade,
             slippage_pct=config.slippage_pct,
-            strategy_weights=config.strategy_weights,
+            strategy_weights={},  # equal weights
             max_position_pct=config.max_position_pct,
             signal_threshold=config.signal_threshold,
         )
 
-        strategies = [
-            MomentumStrategy(),
-            MeanReversionStrategy(),
-            NewsDrivenStrategy(),
-        ]
-
         engine = BacktestEngine(config=bt_config, strategies=strategies)
-
-        # Use an empty data loader for now; a full implementation
-        # would load historical bars from TimescaleDB.
-        from backtester.data_loader import BacktestDataLoader
-
-        data_loader = BacktestDataLoader(bars=[], sentiments=[])
-
         result = await engine.run(data_loader)
 
+        # ---- Build response matching frontend expectations ----
+        equity_curve = [
+            {"timestamp": ts.isoformat(), "value": eq}
+            for ts, eq in result.equity_curve
+        ]
+
         await redis.setex(
             f"backtest:{run_id}",
             86400,
             json.dumps({
+                "run_id": run_id,
                 "status": "completed",
-                "config": config.model_dump(mode="json"),
-                "result": {
+                "equity_curve": equity_curve,
+                "metrics": {
                     "total_return": result.total_return,
                     "annualized_return": result.annualized_return,
                     "sharpe_ratio": result.sharpe_ratio,
-                    "sortino_ratio": result.sortino_ratio,
-                    "max_drawdown_pct": result.max_drawdown_pct,
-                    "max_drawdown_duration_days": result.max_drawdown_duration_days,
-                    "win_rate": result.win_rate,
-                    "avg_win_loss_ratio": result.avg_win_loss_ratio,
-                    "trade_count": result.trade_count,
-                    "avg_hold_duration_seconds": result.avg_hold_duration.total_seconds(),
+                    "max_drawdown": result.max_drawdown_pct,
+                    "win_rate": result.win_rate / 100.0,
+                    "total_trades": result.trade_count,
+                    "avg_hold_duration": str(result.avg_hold_duration),
                 },
                 "completed_at": datetime.now(tz=timezone.utc).isoformat(),
             }),
@@ -134,12 +204,68 @@ async def _run_backtest_task(
             f"backtest:{run_id}",
             86400,
             json.dumps({
+                "run_id": run_id,
                 "status": "failed",
                 "error": str(exc),
             }),
         )
 
 
+async def _fetch_alpaca_bars(
+    tickers: list[str],
+    start: datetime,
+    end: datetime,
+    api_key: str,
+    secret_key: str,
+) -> list[dict]:
+    """Fetch historical bars from Alpaca's market data API.
+
+    Runs the synchronous Alpaca SDK call in a thread executor to avoid
+    blocking the event loop.
+    """
+    if not api_key or not secret_key:
+        raise ValueError("Alpaca API credentials not configured (TRADING_ALPACA_API_KEY / TRADING_ALPACA_SECRET_KEY)")
+
+    def _fetch() -> list[dict]:
+        from alpaca.data.historical import StockHistoricalDataClient
+        from alpaca.data.requests import StockBarsRequest
+        from alpaca.data.timeframe import TimeFrame
+
+        client = StockHistoricalDataClient(api_key, secret_key)
+
+        # Ensure timezone-aware datetimes
+        start_dt = start if start.tzinfo else start.replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+        end_dt = end if end.tzinfo else end.replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+
+        req = StockBarsRequest(
+            symbol_or_symbols=tickers,
+            timeframe=TimeFrame.Day,
+            start=start_dt,
+            end=end_dt,
+        )
+
+        bars_response = client.get_stock_bars(req)
+        all_bars: list[dict] = []
+
+        for ticker in tickers:
+            ticker_bars = bars_response.get(ticker, []) if bars_response else []
+            for bar in ticker_bars:
+                all_bars.append({
+                    "timestamp": bar.timestamp,
+                    "ticker": ticker,
+                    "open": float(bar.open),
+                    "high": float(bar.high),
+                    "low": float(bar.low),
+                    "close": float(bar.close),
+                    "volume": int(bar.volume),
+                })
+
+        return all_bars
+
+    loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
+    return await loop.run_in_executor(None, _fetch)
+
+
 @router.get("/{run_id}")
 async def get_backtest(
     run_id: str,