Trading Australian & New Zealand stocks

[JTrader]

Hello

I would be interested to hear about peoples experiences of trading shares within the top Australian an New Zealand indices such as the NZSX 15, or the S&P/ASX 20. (Just in case I ever up sticks!)

How does the liquidity and size of moves compares to FTSE100 shares and/or US markets, personal favourite shares within the Indices, recommended brokers.

Also, how do the level 2 data order books work for both Indices.

Thanks a lot

jtrader.

 

[jonnyy40]

PM Quercus (spelling)?

 

[Quercus]

Try the NZAX if you like watching paint dry jtrader!
It's dominated by ONE share which is a monopolistic telecom outfit set up years ago by a privatisation. Some of the larger companies have a bit of liquidity, but take it from me, it really is SLOW.
Aussie is a different matter altogether. Some very liquid shares and little dominance although the banks have a large influence on the index. It is a resource based econonmy like Canada, (lots of mining and exploration companies) and consequently is very influenced by exchange rate moves, so by default it is sensitive to reserve bank interest rate changes too.
There are lots of experienced and successful day traders in Oz - take them on at your peril! Been there done that!
If you're really interested then do a google for books by Darren Guppy - he's a bit of a trading/training guru over there on share trading. But as usual take the information with a pinch of salt - all the good set-ups in the books are hard to find in reality!
A very good web-site, if not the best is reefcap.com, operated by a very experienced guy called Nick Radge, take a look. There are some sophisticated traders on there playing with warrants and option models. Mainly mechanical though. Oh and there's also a thread on NZ stocks too!
Happy Reading!
Quercus
Forgot to say - take a look at the indices guide for some exchange links!

 

[Quercus]

jtrader
Yes CMC do operate down here with an office on Sydney. They did however start to charge commission from Nov last year, and also charge an exchange fee just to see the data. They're known as DealNot4Free down here!
I don't believe there is a level2 system in Oz, and there certainly isn't one in NZ!
Be aware that both countries operate an order matching system without market makers. So no-one makes markets in any shares on the exchanges - in other words orders are matched between buyers and sellers. Institutions are however obliged to make markets, or at least offer spreads on the warrants that they issue. But they do this at their chosen prices!
CMC make the usual claims of being market makers, and they have just introduced a system which they say gives a better spread by incorporating the orders of CFD clients into their data. I am somewhat sceptical of such a claim. And I also believe for what it's worth that they were taken to the cleaners initially by some pretty savvy Aussie day traders who really knew their system whereas CMC were the new boys on the block! It's my dream and I'll believe it! :cheesy:
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Quercus

 

[JTrader]

Thanks Quercus
the level 2 situation sounds pretty much like SETS on the top FTSE 150 or maybe 250 stocks I think it is.

How much do CMC charge for commissions and data fees?

Cheers.

 

[Quercus]

jtrader
I seem to remember that the exchange fee is about $30Au per month, and take a look here for the commission charges:
CMC Australia Fees
Cheers
Quercus

 

[JTrader]

Thanks Quercus thats good information.

 

[trendsignal UK]

Aussie

Trading Aussie stocks is OK. They trend well. Harder to day trade as the volatility is just nto there. I have a house there and spend 6 months a year in Oz. The most widely traded contract is ..... the Dow. I personally prefer to follow a schedule like:

Get up at 10:00
Go to beach and have brekky
Reture home at 12:00
Trade UK and Europe (stopping for tea)
Trade first chunk of US and UK/Europe close

Works well for me. I do know a bunch of Aussies that trade US through the night - but I'm not sure I personally see the point (I mean sun is what its about for me).

 

[JTrader]

Yes

I was thinking it would be difficult to trade the US or Europeans in a Pacific time zone. Becoming a night worker wouldn't be much fun for me either, a work-life balance and the possibility of a shorter working week is what its all about for me too!

 

[Skimbleshanks]

I used to trade with a gal in Auckland - the ES market would start at 01:30 local time so she would sleep from 20:00 to 01:00, trade through the night until 08:15 then get another couple of hours sleep, getting up again at 11:00. That way she had most of the daylight hours, and traded through the night.

She'd have porridge and honey to keep her going through the night, and I'd have Vegemite sarnies.

 

[Quercus]

Just about what I do at the moment too!
Only sometimes I sleep through the lunchtime doldrums - a bit like being on watch. Two hours on, two hours off, two hours on!
Then golf or fishing or running etc in the afternoon.
Cheers
Quercus