Hi Pete,
Just to add my welcome to Mark's. We are a slightly eccentric bunch here (hope I don't offend anybody).
Certainly Mark and I trade in much the same way and have probably similar backgrounds. We both trade (as the thread says) swing and day which means we look for relatively short term changes of direction based on, almost exclusively, technical analysis. We share trades that we have already taken and generally, for the benefit of others, describe very briefly why we entered. It is NOT meant it be construed as any type of recommendation. Often we exchange ideas on some nuances of TA but again neither of us proclaim to have found the holy grain, we stick to and tweak our own systems.
As far as BLT is concerned I agree 100% with Mark, miners are not vogue at the moment.
From a purely technical point of view you must be aware that these stocks are very heavily weighted and that means that they exhibit very erratic intraday swings. BLT opened today at 890 ish and has mirrored the FTSE in the decline pattern to now be at the days lows (OK the FTSE is recovering slightly). RIO exhibits even more severe swings, today 2310 to 2235!. Both Mark and I have played at intraday trades to take advantage of these swings.
Any long term trade on these stocks needs to take account of the probable very high volatility.
From a longer term view there is support at around 790 dating back from beginning / end (twice) August and I personally would wait for a re-test and subsequent break out from these support levels before considering any longs.
Having said that sods law says that it will now rocket!
Good trading.
Dave
Just to add my welcome to Mark's. We are a slightly eccentric bunch here (hope I don't offend anybody).
Certainly Mark and I trade in much the same way and have probably similar backgrounds. We both trade (as the thread says) swing and day which means we look for relatively short term changes of direction based on, almost exclusively, technical analysis. We share trades that we have already taken and generally, for the benefit of others, describe very briefly why we entered. It is NOT meant it be construed as any type of recommendation. Often we exchange ideas on some nuances of TA but again neither of us proclaim to have found the holy grain, we stick to and tweak our own systems.
As far as BLT is concerned I agree 100% with Mark, miners are not vogue at the moment.
From a purely technical point of view you must be aware that these stocks are very heavily weighted and that means that they exhibit very erratic intraday swings. BLT opened today at 890 ish and has mirrored the FTSE in the decline pattern to now be at the days lows (OK the FTSE is recovering slightly). RIO exhibits even more severe swings, today 2310 to 2235!. Both Mark and I have played at intraday trades to take advantage of these swings.
Any long term trade on these stocks needs to take account of the probable very high volatility.
From a longer term view there is support at around 790 dating back from beginning / end (twice) August and I personally would wait for a re-test and subsequent break out from these support levels before considering any longs.
Having said that sods law says that it will now rocket!
Good trading.
Dave
A wise move Sir,
FTSE down almost 70 and close at the days lows is never a good sign. Unfortunately I was out most of the day so could not play intraday, shame!
DOW also down 70. Time to tighten stops on all longs I think.
Have a good evening all,
Dave
FTSE down almost 70 and close at the days lows is never a good sign. Unfortunately I was out most of the day so could not play intraday, shame!
DOW also down 70. Time to tighten stops on all longs I think.
Have a good evening all,
Dave
Morning all,
a dangerous day is developing for anyone (like me) who has open long positions.
The DOW and all Far East markets are down heavily, NIKKEI has just closed with its biggest fall since April! All European markets are called down, SB'ers are calling the FTSE down by around 25.
I am not into prediction but I can see support at 5380 and we could well get a bounce from there, alternatively, I shall be looking to short the FTSE below that level.
As far as my open positions (RR, GKN, BWNG & CTM) are concerned the former 2 have stops in positive territory, the latter have my standard 3% opening stop. I shall leave the stops as they are.
If it all goes t**ts up then I will be break even across the 4.
I shall not be entering any equities today, except as very short term intraday trades.
Good trading to all
Dave
a dangerous day is developing for anyone (like me) who has open long positions.
The DOW and all Far East markets are down heavily, NIKKEI has just closed with its biggest fall since April! All European markets are called down, SB'ers are calling the FTSE down by around 25.
I am not into prediction but I can see support at 5380 and we could well get a bounce from there, alternatively, I shall be looking to short the FTSE below that level.
As far as my open positions (RR, GKN, BWNG & CTM) are concerned the former 2 have stops in positive territory, the latter have my standard 3% opening stop. I shall leave the stops as they are.
If it all goes t**ts up then I will be break even across the 4.
I shall not be entering any equities today, except as very short term intraday trades.
Good trading to all
Dave
RR closed on stop @ 375 (not surprising) for a profit of 11 points.
Entered ANTO (one of my current day trading favourites) short @ 1449 stop now moved to 1437 so 12 points already in the bag.
This stock is jumping wildly today and spreads are also moving wildly. Nice to see D4F are matching the lev 2 order book!
Fills are slow but honoured which is heartening.
Entered ANTO (one of my current day trading favourites) short @ 1449 stop now moved to 1437 so 12 points already in the bag.
This stock is jumping wildly today and spreads are also moving wildly. Nice to see D4F are matching the lev 2 order book!
Fills are slow but honoured which is heartening.
ANTO, ouch, too quick on the mouse! placed close order @ 1435 and a big order was in the market so the re-quote was fleetingly 1448, which I accepted. STUPID!!! Fell immediately back to 37 which was where my stop was, cost me 11 points.
A simple 12 point profit disappeared to 1 point profit.
Gutted!
A simple 12 point profit disappeared to 1 point profit.
Gutted!
Hey Dave!Euro_d said:
A profit's a profit - not too bad in this market! Been busy covering my backside this morning:
Took big loss on REX long @ 507.5. Opened @ 517 on 3/10.
Closed other 50% of my IPR long for a good profit @ 242.25 (just above my revised stop-out level). Opened @ average 236.5 on 12/9 & 15/9. Closed the other 50% @ 248.75 on 27/9.
Closed RR long @ 373, just above B/E
Remaining position: Long GSK(50%), SPW, YELL; Short KGF.
I note that indicative DOW is in positive territory, so some people are betting that we'll get a bounce across the pond this atternoon.
Be careful out there!
Mark
Morning All,
Thanks for all the posts, I was hoping for good things today but the market has done just the opposite. I have 3 long positions opened at the moment and just going to have to ride it out.
Is all the falling due to US raising interest rates ...?
Pete
Thanks for all the posts, I was hoping for good things today but the market has done just the opposite. I have 3 long positions opened at the moment and just going to have to ride it out.
Is all the falling due to US raising interest rates ...?
Pete
Hi Pete,Nelz said:
The "cause" of the fall is not very relevant - there are all sorts of things that it could be put down to. At root, though it's a change of sentiment.
One key point however: this morning's UK fall was easily predictable (that's why I closed many long positions early): the DOW plunged last night by over 100 pts. That's a dead cert for a lower open the following day.
I considered shorting the FTSE100 this morning but decided against for two reasons: a) SB firms had already marked it down, so it's debatable how much profit was left; b) I don't trade indices at the moment: still honing my skills on FTSE100 shares. It's important to stick to your trading principles, otherwise you tend to come unstuck, in my experience.
The big question now is: is this just a short term sell-off in an overall uptrend, or does it mark a major turning point? I think it is probably short term but going long today, esp before US markets open could be v dangerous. I'm inclined to wait & see how the DOW trades today & tonight before opening any new positions. The DOW's performance should give a significant clue to how sentiment is evolving. If it's down again tonight (or doesn't stage a hefty bounce), I think that'd be a pretty bearish signal.
Good trading,
Mark
Hi Pete,
I am sure you already know but the most important money protection tool is the stop loss.
You need to set it and never change it to increase risk, only reduce risk.
Most traders do not try and predict the market but "follow the trend". The hard part is identifying that trend and separating it from a false start.
From your post it seems that you have not followed the time tested rule, "know when to get out before you jump in"
Be careful.
Good trading
Dave
I am sure you already know but the most important money protection tool is the stop loss.
You need to set it and never change it to increase risk, only reduce risk.
Most traders do not try and predict the market but "follow the trend". The hard part is identifying that trend and separating it from a false start.
From your post it seems that you have not followed the time tested rule, "know when to get out before you jump in"
Be careful.
Good trading
Dave
Nelz said:
If you are too far away from the "logical" places to put your stops, but you feel good about
your choice, why not put a numerical stop on, i.e. 5, 10 points? Practice will tell you how far they have to be., but you should have a stop on.
I'm having a poor couple of weeks but my losses are confined to 15 points, so far, on four or five trades. Spotting the trend is easier said than done, isn't it?
Split
Euro_d said:
Hi Dave,
Perhaps that statement should be clarified: "following the trend" is just one technique for predicting the market! [Happens to be one that many of us use!]
It's important to understand though, that we're all trying to predict the market. Trading success depends on it. What I'm increasingly learning is that there's no one way of doing it and you need to use every bit of info. you can get your hands on to improve your odds of success (without being confused by it all).
What I'm trying to do in my new strategy is only enter trades where the vast majority of indicators/chart patterns/newsflow etc are all pointing the same way. I must add, though that I found pretty early on that just trading on an "opinion" of what the market was thinking and where it might move didn't work for me.
Just chickened out of my YELL long @ 482.75. opened @ 478.625 on 30/9: chart a bit indeterminate BUT L2 is showing very little buying support remaining. Also, whilst several multi £m buys have gone through today, there must be huge seller(s) out there to fill those buy orders. With all those sell orders and general market nervousness, I'd rather not watch my profit turn into a loss. I might get back in once the big sell has printed.
Cheers,
Mark
