Trade Example - 25 Jan 16

First day of trading with official Trading Out Loud account was a good start. 2 trades on SPX500 and 1 trade on EUR/JPY yielded about 4% profit. But a hasty trade on EUR/USD reduced it by 1%. Total trading income today was about 3% of capital.

Sell EUR/USD after strong downward signals

After a prolong upward trend, a strong downturn (might be temporary or permanent) is seen with long down bars and insufficient upward momentum right after. Decided to short 2 bars after such a signal. Market went against trade. Stop loss was placed at previous high in case market continues upward trend. As stop loss was hit, market took another downturn to continue downward reversal.

Unlucky to have hit stop loss at a high. However, trade entry was too hasty, and against the general trend. Should have confirmed the trend reversal before shorting at a correction point.

SPX500 at market opening

Lively market opening on the SPX500 with a general downtrend and an undecided market with large volume consolidation for first hour.

1st trade was entered as a short just before market opening to capitalise on the continuing downtrend and the volume during first 10min of NYSE opening. Momentum was undecided with strong signals in both directions, forming a wide and short consolidation channel. Minimized risk and took profit at previous low in case it became a "W" formation and upward rebound. Profit 4 pips.

2nd short trade was entered after confirmation of continuing downward trend, but breaking previous low. Entered position at next green bar to maximise profits. Closed trade with profit of 3 pips after 5 minutes.

EUR/JPY order hit after a long consolidation phase

Lastly, I took a trade on the EUR/JPY market. This long consolidation was too hard to miss. Placed 2 orders. One buy order 2 pips above and one sell order 3 pips below the consolidation midpoint. It eventually trigger the buy order. Stop loss placed at previous low. Took profit after 20 minutes at 13 pips. Turned out to be a intermediate high. Market did continue to move upwards eventually.

Review

Markets are volatile. Although trends tend to continue, it can turnaround any time. Reduce risk by spending less time in position and more time picking out the best entry point.

Short trades are generally quicker than long trades with downward movements being more rapid. (Fear is stronger than greed) Pick out selling opportunities more often, then you can get in and out faster with more profits.

Official "Trading Out Loud" Cash Accout

Happy 2016!

This year has an overall gloomy outlook on the markets. Impending rate hikes causing less liquidity in the market will affect traders in one way or another. However, the good news is, if you are doing very short term trading on forex and indices, market volumes are less affected.

It has been a while since I started posting trades using a practice account. To start the new year rolling, I have decided to start a fresh, cash trading account and will be posting every trade on this site for sharing. Yes, real cash trading! There will be no change in trading methodology, just that this time profits will be for real, so will losses.

So here goes.

USD1159.88 into "Trading Out Loud" account. Let's track our progress from here on. Awaiting Monday.

Trade Example - 22 Jan 16

EUR/USD. This short trade was done on a 15min chart with a downtrend. Position entered after downward reversal bars signal continuation of downward momentum. Took first profit of 6.4 pips within 2 mins.

Entered a second sell trade after temporary rebound, and averaged up 15min later to maximize profits. Set auto take profit at previous low, just in case it becomes a long consolidation phase. It did go down further eventually. Average profit of 3.6 pips.

15min chart of EUR/US, showing strong downtrend

Verdict

Good identification of trend. Trading with minimal risk as planned, taking profits quick.

Next few trades are on US SPX500 index, which can be very active close to NYSE opening hours.

First trade was too hasty on catching a spike after a long consolidation. After a week of downward momentum in the US market, this day is a gradual upward correction on the 5min chart. Seeing the upward continuation is not happening yet, stopped loss at next 3 bars.

2nd trade was at market opening after a first green bar exceeded previous high of 1896.9. Entered buy position at next bar's low. Held on to position even after subsequent red bar due to strong upward movement and breaking of previous high. Stop loss set at previous low of 1890.8. Took profit of 5.6 pips after 5 bars.

3rd trade took advantage of a strong downward correction as earlier investors are taking profits/cutting loss. Sold right after a strong downbar which came after 2 dojis, and out within 2 minutes.

Overall, it was a good trading day with enough volume to support the signals generated.

Forex Trade Example - 21 Jan 16

EUR / USD pairing sees a sharp downward reversal on the 5 min chart. 15min chart shows a continuous downtrend since previous day. Enter trade after confirmation of downward reversal, ie. lower low, and lower high. Maximize profits and reduce spreading cost by taking position after a green bar. Reduce risk by exiting market within 15mins. Profit of 3.2 pips

Downward Reversal on 5 min chart

Downtrend on 15 min chart

Significant drop in EUR/USD after closure of trade

Verdict

Quick trade, small and sure profit. Correct identification of long term trend and short term reversal. EUR/USD pairing dropped even more significantly thereafter due to Draghi's press conference.

Forex Trade Summary (20 June 15)

Hi all. It's good to be back. With the stock market having a standstill, forex is a good alternative for your investing needs. EUR/USD pairing has seen a turn of trend since March. Good time to look for long trades.

Long on EUR/USD on 17 June on an uptrend, just few bars after a long green bar. Pending a breakout of last high of 1.145. Take profit at point below last high, profit of 153 pips. Consistent and safe trade. In market for 3 days. Will take long position again if market corrects to trendline and supports.

Forex Trade Summary (11 June 14)

Haven't been able to catch the early trades due to work commitments. Today's only trade is riding on a strong bearish sentiment on the EUR/JPY pairing. JPY is regaining it's strength and seems to be doing so for the next few months. 

Disclaimer:  This is purely for sharing purpose only, not a trading advice or instruction.

Trade: Short on downtrend pullback. Take profit at 19.3 pips.

Review: Both short and long term trends were down, same thing  for USD/JPY pairing. This means the bullish sentiment for JPY is still very strong. Trade was initiated by limit order that was placed along downtrend line and caught a peak before continuing downwards. Quick and relatively large profit of 19.3. Good trade.

Trade: Buy at uptrend pullback after confirmation of continuation. Averaged down on same bar. Quick exit after 3 bars at average of 9 pips profit.

Review: After confirmation of upward continuation (kicker bar touching trendline), I waited to see if price would come down for a better position to buy. That decision was rewarded by a mini pullback followed by a big green bar to solidify profits. Confidence of taking long position was strengthened by medium term long trend on the 1 hr chart.

Summary

Both trades today were in-sync with the longer term trends shown on the 1hr charts. This gave me more confidence to take my trades and wait out for a profit, although the trades today were quite swift. This also makes a difference in the confidence to average up/down for a better overall position.

Forex Trade Summary (6 June 14)

Due to work commitments, I haven't been able to trade actively for the past 2 days. But I still managed to catch this short term trend reversal on the EUR/USD on Friday.
Disclaimer:  This is purely for sharing purpose only, not a trading advice or instruction.

Trade: Trend reversal from down to up, higher peak and higher trough. Buy after confirmation of upward signal. Averaged down on next bar. Profit taken at average of 7.5 pips.

Review: After a gradual downward movement on the 5min chart, trend reversal is signalled by higher peak. Took position after a 3 bar upward confirmation.  First position was a little high, thus averaged down on the next bar. Quick exit within 5 bars at previous symmetrical resistance, in case it turns into a sideway movement.