Day Trade the FTSE

[datav]

Thursday

Nice trending day yesterday if you could stand back and look at the bigger picture. Close up it was really choppy, but on a 15 minute chart, quite nice.
Patience, patience, patience. A trader is like a hunter, sitting in the bushes all day long waiting for their prey to come within range. If you shoot at everything that moves, you'll run out of ammunition before you get a decent target. When you get a good target, you must go for the kill,. If you are indecisive at the critical moment, your prey will get away, leaving you witha bit of skin in your hands.

 

[ukhero]

Tomorrow will be another day when you need to watch the sectors:

Just my thoughts:

Miners: top heavy.
Oil: not known, but if it rises it will be a plus.
Banks: still have room to move. A lot of over buying here and more expected.
Other sectors: they will jossle to the point of being negitive.
Profit taking is expected.

In all, still a positive day expected, but a close call. Could be a good day for scalping rather then a simple up down day.

Good trading

UK

 

[euromex]

Hi Guys...Great thread just what I've been looking for. After doing a lot of paper trades on capital spreads demo I started using my OWN dosh for the first time on monday and ended up with about 80pts by the end of the week...not much some may say...but dam I luv it... just luv it...
Do you guys think ftse will continue to raise & maybe hit the 6200 magic mark. It seems everyones expecting the Dow to hit 12,000 by the end of the wk.

Great Trading This week Guys.

 

[Splitlink]

This thread has lost its impetus since the introduction of the chat show. A pity, because I liked it here.

I hope that you keep up the 80 points on a consistant basis. I have made that and a bit more (103 points is my record) but a few bad weeks can take it back.

So, what will happen this week? The market can reach new highs or, perhaps, this one will fall back to below the previous one.

 

[datav]

Monday

This thread has lost its impetus since the introduction of the chat show. A pity, because I liked it here.

I hope that you keep up the 80 points on a consistant basis. I have made that and a bit more (103 points is my record) but a few bad weeks can take it back.

So, what will happen this week? The market can reach new highs or, perhaps, this one will fall back to below the previous one.

$64,000 dollar question Splitlink. At these levels and with 5 consecutive higher highs, the odds favour some consolidation today. But we said that every day last week, and it wasnt very useful! Nonetheless, we are up against monthly R2 and some consolidation at least seems likely. While the index is at 5 year new highs, the future is still below its April high of 6205. The index of course has some way to go before it gets close to all time highs reached in 2000 of 6950, and recently, the FTSE has looked more like the Russell 2000 than the Dow, which is also well off its long term highs. A lot depends on the oil and mining sector which is highly significant in both indices. Short term however, and as far as day traders are concerned, lets not get too wrapped up in this. You can make a case for any scenario.

Consistency, and good money management are the keys to this game.

 

[Splitlink]

I started trading FT index on Sept 13 and had an excellent two weeks. However, the last seven trading days have hit my profits by quite a large amount, although I am still ahead. No good moaning, though, or blaming the SB company. The FT rose 30 points this morning while I was trading. I was trading against the trend and that is all there is to it!. I shall continue to trade the index while I am in profit, but I am coming back to the old view I had that swing trading and owning shares is more tranquil. In fact, thank God for my portfolio!

Split

 

[mexcalibur]

I have found the FTSE difficult to trade over the last few days I think the issue is the indexes in general are at all time highs. I never trade against the trend where ever possible and watch the S&P as a lead which seems to work using pivots for suppot and resistance. keep the faith its still a good way to trade.

 

[datav]

Tuesday

good posts. It has been difficult to trade the last week or 2. The fact is when the index approaches and passes long term highs, there is always a high risk that it will turn back from those highs, making it difficult to take a long position. All the indicators are in grossly over bought mode and every technical measure, except the trendline, favours a retracement and some profit taking, so its not surprising that it has been difficult to trade. This is a highly unusual situation. And the trend is still up. We have had some reasonable 10 point trades on the short side and I continue to see that as the lower risk option. But who knows we could go motoring up to 7000 without a break, so I guess we have to be more open to the upside as well-

 

[ukhero]

To all, welcome to the wonderful world of marketeering.

A touch of negativity here of late, and its not unexpected. The FTSE has hit dizzy heights and is therefore difficult to predict on a daily occurrence. But if you can master the FTSE you can predict with glowing efficiency any other market in the world.

The FTSE is by far the most difficult of Indices, even coined the 'the Madam of unpredictability' but she can be tamed. Hang in there and study. Its well worth it.

Tomorrows direction is a gamble as its paved with a high degree of uncertainty, so invest with caution. Or better still, walk the dog.

Good trading.

UK

 

[datav]

Wednesday

Great post UK, "The taming of the Shrew" today...UP up up.. We got the pullback we've been waiting for all week, and I hope everyone managed to make up for some of the difficult days we have had of late. Having come back to the daily moving average and the centre line of the channel, odds are for a rise today, unless any negative sentiment takes hold. On the otherhand, we are still over bought according to the daily indicators..so as usual you can make a case for any scenario! continuous commentary in the T2W chat room

 

[datav]

Thursday

From a chart perspective, daily has turned from up to flat, and right now sitting on monthly R2 of 6141. Tough to call but another flat day with plenty of intraday volaitility would be my guess.. yipee! Days like yesterday are great for day traders with two 30 point swings. Hope you all got some of that. Just a note on economic data releases. Its wise to be flat in front of important announcements. Can go either way. But, if you are on the case, the FTSE will follow the real direction of the move more reliably than the YM or ES. In the US futures, you often get violent whipsaws before the move is established, making it very difficult to catch the move. The FTSE on the other hand will let you get on. Yesterday we had a quick 25 points out of the CPI generated move.
Today we have weekly unemployment and consumer sentiment. Not expecting these numbers to be specially significant, but you never know.

safe trading to all

 

[datav]

Friday

What a great way to end the week for us FTSE followers. A full 50 point intraday swing which I know several of us had a chunk out of. Thanks to everyone for their contributions. A week of consolidation at these high levels has allowed the MAs to catch up and set the scene for higher highs perhaps. This weekend I am reading "Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman, in an effort to improve my objectivity and self control. Recommended reading for any professional trader.

 

[Splitlink]

I could write a book---------

My fortunes when day trading the FT have continued to be poor this week and by Thursday morning, when I lost 7 points, I had almost decided to call it a day. That morning I bought into two stocks which I had selected the evening before, BG.and LMI, after which I returned to the Footsie and went long, a trade that rewarded me with 36 points

Friday I closed both the stocks. Would you believe that BG gave me 16 points and LMI 50!- That morning I bought long of Footsie, saw them make 10 points profit. Everyone in the chatroom was shorting by then while I went away to write a pm to Joules, who had sent me a very supportive one the day before, for which I am very grateful. However, when I went back I was showing a loss and Footsie was falling so fast I lost 10 points there, in the end.

The moral of that is don't write pms during trading time, even though you appreciate the people you are sending to!

So you see, Datav, I didn't get any of that 50 points you were talking of on Friday, but I shall still be back for more on Monday.

Regards Split

 

[datav]

Well guys, thats trading. Give 10 different people the same market, same caital and they will all produce different results. Great point Joules. Discipline is one of the pilars of success in this business. Most of the correct decisions you make as a trader are counter-intuitive, or counter instinctive. It is necessary to have a strict plan and rules which must be followed, to teach yourself the correct habits.

 

[Splitlink]

Yes, I must admit to being a bit miffed by that. I bought at 6144.4 and sold at 6144.6 because I had to go out. I like to put a stop into profit if I have to go out, because it frequently happens that the index comes back before the close. Ian managed it, I think. Good for him.

Split

 

[datav]

Great day again yesterday with some nice steady intrady swings of 30+ points. Make hay while the sun shines! With the dow now at new record highs, I am looking for the markets to roll over this week, the Russell being my main indicator for direction of the rest of the markets. FTSE continues to show weakness to my mind, so not expecting major rises today, although never rule out the unexpected!

Just a word on trading methodology. If you work to a fixed goal, you resolvemany problems in the traders life. Greed, fear, probability...stress ..all are limited if you aim for a modest target, then stop when you hit it.

Id be reallly interested to hear other traders views on this aspect.

Safe trading

 

[countryroads]

Modest Targets

I think that modest targets are a good idea but then you leave yourself open to cutting short when your on a decent winning move in the market .

I agree lots less stress , greed , fear problems . but unless you increase you stakes considerably per point { assuming your spread betting } then your likely to come out with less than you wanted ?

I did hear of a UK based Trader who traded 500 pounds per point , whose target was 8pts per day on reaching that quit for the day !

I suppose it comes down to how much you want per day/week and the amount you have to play with per point .

Alex Be Lucky .

 

[Splitlink]

I think that modest targets are a good idea but then you leave yourself open to cutting short when your on a decent winning move in the market .

I agree lots less stress , greed , fear problems . but unless you increase you stakes considerably per point { assuming your spread betting } then your likely to come out with less than you wanted ?

I did hear of a UK based Trader who traded 500 pounds per point , whose target was 8pts per day on reaching that quit for the day !

I suppose it comes down to how much you want per day/week and the amount you have to play with per point .

Alex Be Lucky .

I agree with your point on limiting profits. If you are on a good run then why can't you push a stop up behind it? It seems a shame to take ten points and hope for another ten tomorrow.

Don't think that my character can trade like that.

Regards Split

 

[datav]

what I try to do is work toward my daily goal of 20 FTSE points. If I hit it, I would as you say Split, place a stop behind a current trade to secure it. If it continues in my direction, great. What I wont do though is initiate a new trade that same day, if I already have my target. Having said that, sometimes there is an irresistible set up

 

[murraypa]

My 5 min chart for today.