Message For Ftse Traders......

The DOW is creeping up now on R1 at 7985. May be an idea to wait until it gets there before selling FTSE or DOW. Don't listen to me though!
 
When you say 'faded the gap' do you mean close the gap? Was that at open?

Spot on. An expert might correct me on this but as I understand it 'fading' is what we've seen this evening. Market opens lower in a downtrend (vice versa in an uptrend) and then retraces to close the gap between yesterday's close. Filling the gap is when the market opens up in a downtrend (vice versa in a uptrend) and then fills the gap between yesterday's close and market open.

Hope that makes sense and hope I'm right???

KJ
 
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Perfectly. So when the Dow had faded the gap, (which it did I think - just before 9pmGMT) you'd have expected it to reverse, and place a stop beyond that on the FTSE?
 
FTSe and S&P oversold.........

looking to get good entry points!!

What just happened guys, i had to rub my eyes when i saw the prices on my phone....

My longs have paid off handsomely, cant wait to get home to close them....

I expected short covering as oversold but not by this much....phew, boy this week has to be one of my best!!!

Kitejedi what are you doing shorting at 4132, its not like to have 31 points stop loss!!

Market is going to rally hard tomorrow.. After todays massive reversal,.beware!!
 
To Wallstreet and S_D, the plan was to go short on the FTSE when the S&P gap faded. At first I couldn't believe this would happen today and once it did I didn't think it would be sustainable. IMO trading the FTSE out of hours means trading the Dow / S&P. Problem was that I ignored the Dow possibly closing the gap as well so, that, logically, had to be the stop if I believed that any touching of yesterday's price would just be a touch. I had no view that price retracement would be that strong.

In short - I GOT IT WRONG!!!! :-((( !!!!!

Still, the beauty of spreadbetting is access to cheap ways of experimenting. If I have one piece of advice for anyone it is 'get lots of SB accounts'. I have my 'proper' trading account and then iii / finspreads for trying things out at lower cost.
 
Here's one for you UK Snowman!

Yet another example of Fib targets being met perfectly. A particulalrly extreme rally just now though, as I'm sure everyone agrees!!

I have traded GBP/EURO most of the day, FTSE is just too choppy for me. But I'm still advidly reading this thread, and thanks to everyone for all the useful tips and links that are posted everyday.
 

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Here's one for you UK Snowman!

Yet another example of Fib targets being met perfectly. A particulalrly extreme rally just now though, as I'm sure everyone agrees!!

I have traded GBP/EURO most of the day, FTSE is just too choppy for me. But I'm still advidly reading this thread, and thanks to everyone for all the useful tips and links that are posted everyday.

Looking good! By the way, if you're looking for more info on FX, the FX daily hotline is a good read (via Investor Intelligence tool on IG) and also dailyfx.com seems to be well written.
 
dow..daily chart.50 point box .1 box reversal.finally breaking down.even though there was a rally tonight
 

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s & P 500 showing the same characteristics on the chart
 

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nas 100.still the stronger index.not showing such bearish behaviour.in my veiw all indices should be showing bearish pictures,including the trannies.,to make it a sustainable move.so possibly,more days of whipsawing
any veiws from anybody..??
 

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Phew nice rally, caught most of the rally up on the dow, about 128 points, got losses back from today and yesterday.. Thanks F*k for that... another try tmrw...
 
Good little story guys....It will give us all hope!!

Reminiscences of a Wall Street Market Maker

It all began on a brutally cold February day in 1993. I had interviewed multiple times at a small firm and finally got word from the head of the company, I was hired. At the time the word market maker or bid/ask were as foreign to me as German, French or Spanish. However, being hired on Wall Street meant money and clout. I could barely contain my excitement.

It is important to remember that this was a time when things were very different. Wall Street was a club of the elite. There were no computers pushing orders through using ECN's. It was big boys ruling the small. I did not have to know one thing on technical analysis or fundamental analysis, I just had understand my level II and have connections.

Certain market makers had reputations. What I mean by this is that market maker XYZ would be known for being long stocks and market maker ABC would be known for shorting stocks. As a market maker you would know this and seeing that market maker on the bid or the ask would alert you to the direction that stock was going. The direction of a stock was determined and is determined by the amount of money forcing it in a certain direction. Those market markers would use their hundreds of millions to force a stock in a particular direction.

As I mentioned earlier, being a market maker was an elite club. Most trades back then were done over the phone, not the computer. With the phone came a personal experience and market makers including myself were able to build close relationships with firms. As you talked to these other top players at other firms you would find out key information on whether they were buying 100,000 shares or 1,000,000,000. You would start to understand and connect with them and know whether or not their firms were forcing stocks lower or higher. As a market maker you could position yourself accordingly. As computers have become mainstream in the trading world, that connection is much less prevalent. It is harder to tell whether someone is buying 1,000 shares or 1,000,000,000. Computers allow the ability to hide ones identity and motives and size.

The firm I started working at was much like any fraternity. Those that were new had to start at the bottom and work their way up. At first my job was doing anything that the veteran traders needed. From answering phones to handling paperwork. A missed phone call meant the firm lost quite possibly thousands of dollars. The phones were always ringing off the hook. The job was grueling, market markers got burnt out and quit left and right or just could not handle the life style and were fired. Succeeding was all about adapting to the craziness and stepping up. The money was there but many could not meet the expectations required.

Very quickly I worked my way up to the assistant to the head trader. Being the assistant meant you were one step away from being an official market maker. Being a market maker was one of the most coveted jobs on Wall Street. If you were a market maker you had control of the firms money. This meant hundreds of millions of dollars at your disposal. With the title came huge money if you were able to perform. I was almost there.

As the assistant to the head trader I began to learn all the ins and outs of the job. I started to create and connect on the phone with the guys all over Wall Street. I found that your word was gold. As long as you were trust worthy and kept your word you were taken for it. However, there were certain guys who did not keep their word. That got around on Wall Street as well and soon enough they were outcasts. I stress the idea again of a fraternity or a good old boys club. The day finally came where I got my own box. Getting your own box meant you had the firms capital behind you and you were officially a market maker. I remember it as clearly as if it was yesterday. I walked into the office and made my way to my desk. On the keyboard there was a list of stocks. I looked the stocks over carefully, noting each one. These were the stocks which I would be making a market in. It basically meant that it was up to me whether or not those stocks would go up or down. I had full control. I was extremely happy but very nervous at the same time. This was the big leagues and I was now a pro player.

With this new responsibility came some negatives as well. The days of weekly paychecks were over. Now I was paid purely on performance. Making a market meant you had to be on the bid or the ask of those stocks throughout the day taking profits. If you lost money one month you would not be paid again until you overcame that loss from the previous month. I was paid as a percentage of my total profits. For instance, if my box grew by five-million one month, I would be paid a percentage of that total at the end of the month.

The first few months were mixed for me. I had some great months and some poor months. The key I found was to have the great months far exceed the poor months. Over time I developed my own style of making a market and did very well. My years as a Wall Street market maker taught me many lessons about the market and its underling functionality. The use of the computer for trading purposes has changed the way the markets work mainly by their ability to hide the key players. The fraternity of market makers is much less prevalent at present day though it still exists...

In 2003, I decided that I was going to trade for myself. Since that time I have traded my own money and have done well. In 2007, I had the opportunity to team up with two of the best traders I have ever met, Nicholas Santiago and Gareth Soloway. At that time INTHEMONEYSTOCKS was formed and as they say, the rest is history. The nineties was an exciting time to be a market maker on Wall Street! All the stories and lessons learned can fill numerous books. I hope to bring you more in the near future.
 
Phew nice rally, caught most of the rally up on the dow, about 128 points, got losses back from today and yesterday.. Thanks F*k for that... another try tmrw...

hahah..........

naughty , naughty!! mind your language my friend.....

I am very happy for you as you really needed that, it will really help your confidence!!
 
To Wallstreet and S_D, the plan was to go short on the FTSE when the S&P gap faded. At first I couldn't believe this would happen today and once it did I didn't think it would be sustainable. IMO trading the FTSE out of hours means trading the Dow / S&P. Problem was that I ignored the Dow possibly closing the gap as well so, that, logically, had to be the stop if I believed that any touching of yesterday's price would just be a touch. I had no view that price retracement would be that strong.

In short - I GOT IT WRONG!!!! :-((( !!!!!

Still, the beauty of spreadbetting is access to cheap ways of experimenting. If I have one piece of advice for anyone it is 'get lots of SB accounts'. I have my 'proper' trading account and then iii / finspreads for trying things out at lower cost.

I weren't questioning your entry or strategy my friend, Its just not like you to have such a wide stop loss...i thought it was strange and your emotions were taking over!!

If it s a well thought out plan then its fine with me......well done regardless as market has pulled back a bit and trading around 4240 region!!

good luck my friend
 
Wall street,
As a matter of interest, when you say 1 contract on ftse, how much is that?
do you bet £10 a point (contract in CFD) or less? just curious
Not having a great day, down £40. Went short on dax 4375, bad trade.
also thought ftse will go down after the UK close but did not trade.
simple reason for ftse to fall at 4.30........ Generally ftse and dax go hand in hand.Dax was down about 120 point and ftse was just 30-40 at close.8 out of 10 times ftse will fall after the close,but today was an exception!!!

Just my experience, any thoughts?

yes 1 contract = £1 a point

i trade on average 2/3 contracts(majority are 3)............or sometimes 1 depending on risk/ratio on trade!!
 
2 hrs to go before New Zealand play Australia in the ODI international cricket final.......

chapel Hadless series 2- 2 at present.....

I'm hoping i stay awake that long to see it but i will does off before then?
 
2 hrs to go before New Zealand play Australia in the ODI international cricket final.......

chapel Hadless series 2- 2 at present.....

I'm hoping i stay awake that long to see it but i will does off before then?

though I was the only one awake! 1.15 am - definately bed time!
 
Morning all!

Can someone help me understand the current break-out? I can't see where the optimisim is coming from and I am bearish on the whole but got whipsawed by this recent move,

All help gratefully received
 
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