Back

Back in Bermuda...had a great week in Trinidad for xmas except the travelling was a bit hectic (6 flights in a week including 2 red-eye flights :S)..just wanted to point out that going forward I will only update this blog on weekends to include trades from the week, thoughts etc...for an intraday look at my trades please follow me on twitter @BermudaTrader ...happy new year!

Still here..

Still here trading...had a few non-trading days as there was an election in Bermuda so I was a little involved with that (my Dad was running in one of the constituencies)..new Government in power here so let's see what they can do for the country in the coming years..anyway here's yesterdays spreadsheet, my broker Swiss America Securities/Suretrader got a new clearing firm anyway hope to be able to update daily but sometimes there is not enough time..next week I am off (going to Trinidad for xmas) so will be looking to get the groove going for 2013 once I return..

Ironing out some issues..

Had a few issues when I finally went live on the new platform which have now been resolved..I also had internet problems which meant that it wasn't until Friday that I was finally able to fire off a couple trades..

First trade was on ueps..has been running up and expecting a bounce back down ..the ideal setup is the parabolic push up and then build into a short..took first position on the run up and then added on the continuation move risking to the 50s..scaled out on the fade as it started moving lower..

Bit slow midday I eye'd a few trades but did not pull the trigger..then noticed the action on groupon it was hovering around the day's highs and grinding slowly but always holding the slight uptrend..another preferred setup as this usually leads to a breakout..entered a bit early and was caught in the grind a bit but then it started perking upwards and once the new highs hit, some volume came in pushing it up nicely..i took 20 cents but in hindsight could have held for more..then grabbed the parabolic move over 50s for a quick bounce back much like i used to do when scalping the euro..grabbed a quick 6 cents on that pull...traded with smaller size as still getting a feel for the platform but not a bad day..went out in the afternoon to run some errands and missed the huge fade off the big run in cbmx a couple friends rode it for over $1 a share ah well lol

DAStraderPro up and running..

Funds have been moved and I am now ready to hit the markets using dastrader pro..really great platform anyway yesterday I followed the markets but couldn't execute as I was still waiting for funds to hit the new account..here is a shot of my tradedesk hope to update this evening with some profitssss :)

Working overtime..

I spent all day yesterday and most of today testing out the new trading platform I'll be using from now on. It is called DAS Trader Pro and is really a state-of-the-art trading platform with lightning fast executions and fast, super direct market access. So far I am liking it and have posted a screenshot from the main trading desktop on the platform.

Markets are providing some good trading conditions and I am looking forward to this month.

Thursday..

The golf finished yesterday..I had fun caddying it's too bad my bro didn't play great..anyway as we tee'd off later in the morning yesterday I didn't make it home in time to catch any of the market.today should be back in full action but here's a photo yesterday from the tee of the par-3 17th hole..

light trading..

Some light trading after the golf today..nothing to brag about but some lunch money..last round of the golf tomorrow then it's all about trading..

Yesterday and today..

Golf tournament started yesterday and we tee'd off early both yesterday and today so I missed the first half of trading both days...not much happened in the afternoon yesterday and today was more or less the same thing..I did grab a couple trades today when I returned from the course...saw fslr popping hard over the $27 mark so waited for the pullback under 27 and started buying..i sold as we started approaching the $27 mark again..my only other trade was a rimm buy on the hard push down looking for the bounce back..grabbed a bit on it anyway here's a snapshot of my screen showing the trades taken..this is the lightspeed trading platform, I am in the process of switching platforms to DAS Trader Pro which is super fast with executions etc..hopefully get to put in a bit more time tomorrow depending on the golf tee time again..

A week off..

No trading this week for me for a couple reasons. Mainly because I am doing some administrative stuff to do with moving funds and closing/opening brokerage accounts. Therefore I will be quite busy filling in paperwork and then fedexing out original documents as well as getting passport copies notarized etc this week. This is the boring and time-consuming part of trading in my opinion lol. Also, this is a good week to take off as it's short anyway due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday later in the week. The markets are closed Thursday all day and close early (at 1pm est) on Friday. I will also be busy with my brother getting ready for another professional golf tournament which kicks off next week (I caddy for him). I will definitely be posting some golf updates on here too haha..

Friday's Charts...

Well I have a bit of time and I'm up early on a Saturday so thought I'd post some charts and comment on the trades I took for Friday.. Each evening I do some market scans and come up with a list of stocks to start with the next day. I am looking for stocks that have been beaten up (3 or 4 down days in a row) and are approaching either previous price support areas or significant moving averages (the daily 100 or 200 day avg). I will add to this list any stocks in the news the next morning (earnings, interesting news items etc.) as these will probably give good movement once the market opens. Trade #1: esrx made my list the nite before as a possible bounce play, it had been down a number of days in a row and the day before had started turning indicating a possible retracement..once the market opened it moved up quite quickly so I waited for a pullback (very similar to my futures trading style). On a 5min chart it pulled back and gave a narrow 5 minute bar rite at the 8ema, so my entry is simply a break of the 5minute high. From the first chart, you can see the entry was around 51.31 as the current 5min candle had a high of 51.30. The next chart shows how the trade played out, and as shown it went in my favour, continuing the move higher..I was a seller into the pushes up, unloading my shares on the way. I normally sell in thirds, my first target being around 15cents my next around 30-40cents and my final over 75cents if it gets there. The stop on this trade was a break of the previous 5minute candle low which would have been 51.18 on this trade so I risked 13cents. I also added 500 shares on a break of the day's high as this usually gives a nice pop (which it did).

Trade #2: During the day I have intraday scanners running, looking at different things, one of them being significant volume spikes. Many times, news is released during the day that causes large amounts of buying or selling in a stock and sometimes if I catch the volume early I can hop in and grab a quick ride of 10-20cents or more. dhi was also on my bounce list as it had been beaten up previously so was due for a bounce. Once I saw the volume coming in (pink arrow on chart) I hopped in (was able to slide in at 18.60). Another nice thing about this trade was that the high of day was just above my entry so I knew if we could get through the high of day more buyers may hop on board (the high of day break is usually a good catalyst for a push higher on a strong stock). Second chart shows the outcome of the trade, we continued the push higher over the next 10-15mins and I was offering as it went up and then got rid of my last shares as it turned just in case it fell back down.

Trade #3 and #4: Both losers and both stocks I had on bounce. The thinking was on jcp it had formed a bit of a base and i figured a break of the base higher it may get going up. It triggered only to fade back down and continue lower. I closed on a break of the base to the downside limiting the loss. ip was also on bounce watch, and it was moving lower touching it's 200 day moving average. The mistake I made here was that I didnt wait for some volume and shape to take the setup (the volume and push down came later around the whole number $33). Again, closed the trade on a break lower thus limiting the loss and looking for the next trade.

Trade #5: This was the correct setup I was looking for in the IP trade, as you can see here on fwlt we got the push down giving the waterfall shape along with the pop in volume. You may notice that this mirrors my Euro scalping style where I would look for a stretch and hop in the opposite way, knowing that price moved a bit like an elastic and would always bounce back. I took the previous 5 minute candle break and this one pushed up where I began offering as it gave 10 cents profit and up.

Friday's trades..

Didn't get a chance to record my trades from yesterday in my spreadsheet, it was quite boring I think I took 3 trades and the first 2 were losses then 1 winner which made back the loss and then some. All-in-all I believe I was up $86 by the end of the day yesterday before commissions so nothing to write home about lol. Today I played golf early with my brother as we are getting ready for a pro tournament here (he is a pro and I caddy for him) and then came back home to do a couple hours trading. The markets were grinding lower with not much activity however I still got a few setups. Started off nicely then a couple losses, then around 12.45pm Bermuda time the markets got a push higher, not really sure why maybe there was some news out anyway I was able to grab one more trade as things climbed a bit. Here's the trades from today, I hope to post a few charts with some explanations/details over the weekend.

Wednesday's Trades (Nov 14)

Just some light trading yesterday as I'm still getting going (haven't traded stocks live for a while)...stock markets have been tanking since the election, however I am still managing to find a few setups for long trades (haven't switched to shorting mode just yet)..each day I keep a spreadsheet of trades which I will try and post here along with charts..my position size on trades is based upon the stoploss size as the most I am comfortable risking per trade is max $250 (which is less than 1% of my account balance)..the spreadsheet is pretty self-explanatory and most days I stop around 1pm bermuda-time and if it's a nice day I hit the golf course :)..anyway will be back in action again today..

A brief update/plans going forward...

Well it is now November, been a while since I posted anything. My goal is to be a bit more active in my postings. The summer was busy as always, and my trading was very infrequent. I have spent the last month reorganizing thoughts and examining exactly what my hopes and goals are for the future. I turned 27 in September and realized I have been trading in some form or another for 14 years (I first got my start investing in stocks at 13 years old). It has been a great adventure, full of both great joy and great disappointment. During October I took time to refocus my efforts on my 'roots' in the stock market and began adapting what I have spent years testing and trading both in spot forex and futures to stocks. The progression of my trading has been detailed on this blog so far, including when I started the blog doing rainbow scalping on the Euro, then the move to trading futures (both currency and equity/oil), and now what will hopefully be my final trading move - daytrading stocks. The blog itself has a new look/location, however the trades I take are obviously rooted around the same styles and systems I have grown familiar with over the years, the only difference being I will be taking trades on the stock market. A little about my style: I basically have a few setups I look for as in most trading systems. I start my days watching the news (I switch between golf news and market news haha), then do a bit of pre-market research and scanning to build a list of stocks I'll be following for the morning. Sometimes I look for the push to certain levels to catch reversals (as I used to in scalping the Euro), sometimes I look for pushes followed by a pullback and continuation (such as when I traded renko bars on the futures markets) and sometimes I catch breakouts. The great thing about the stock market (to me anyway) is that there are thousands of stocks to choose from, so I can be guaranteed a few good setups no matter the market conditions. I will really make the extra effort to update each evening on the day's activity by posting my trades and sometimes charts and explanations etc.

Summer trading..

Still here trading, took a bit of a break as it was holiday time here and I had a number of people visiting..here's a trade from today on oil standard entry and let the trails take me out..+9 and +29

Wednesday..

Got time to post quickly before i head out..nasdaq waited till news came out and then looked for some selling as yesterday it dropped off hard..got the push then the pullback for the short and it took off quickly giving me my first target out at 20 ticks and the second trailed getting stopped out at 21..nice trade, then it was oil inventories a bit later so waited and saw we were dropping after inventories so grabbed the first short entry i saw...quickly went to my 20 tick target has dropped even more since..nice day anyway about to head to the marina

Tuesday's trades...

Here are my trades for Tuesday on oil and the nasdaq..have some time today as we are having thunderstorms so the boat rental business is quiet today (only sent out a few jet ski tours)..all in all 3 trades on oil (1 loss and 2 wins) and a winner on the nq.. First post is a screen capture during the trades the others are entries and final exits..

Some trades from last week..

Here's some screenshots of trades from last week that I saved on my computer but never got time to post..back in action this week seem to be getting some better setups which is great!

Summer trading..

Still here taking my trades and setups..have noticed a drop-off in the momentum and volatility, usually happens during the summer months..I am still quite busy in the days as I normally trade from 9.30am-12pm and then manage the marina from 1pm-7.30pm..here's a couple trades from yesterday on the nasdaq futures (still watching oil and the nq)..

monday

spent the weekend working at the marina and studying a bit of volume spread analysis..vsa combined with the renko market structure trading seems like it can work well..volume spread analysis looks at the volume on each bar as well as the spread and close of the bar to gauge where the buyers and sellers are..I used to use vsa on spot forex a bit, will see if I can use it successfully in the futures market alongside my trading method..time will tell

Wed..

Markets are moving a tiny bit better than last week which doesnt say much..have not had time to post trades here is a reversal I took on oil to start the day today..inventories later so we'll see what happens..

last wk..

annoying market last week with not much movement and alot of fakeouts..managed to scrape by fo the last few days of the week and have been super busy with the marina in the afternoons...we are now the #1 to-do activity in Bermuda on tripadvisor! lol anyway back in action and hopefully the market moves a bit better this week...

monday

well after a boring finish to the week last week where there was little movement and not much momentum, managed to grab a textbook nq trade to start the day off for me..standard entry and got some nice follow thru, might have been stopped a bit early on the first contract bcoz i have tightened up the trail on it but ah well..net +23.5 ticks per contract..

wednesday

well today was a lesson in patience..oil inventories today later in the morning, decided to look for shorts as we were getting a nice push down in oil..first short was a standard entry which gave a few ticks profit but did not follow thru, so stopped out for -16 ticks...waited for the next setup which was in the same pullback but a bit higher (at the midband this time too) so took this one and it gave a nice push down for +15 ticks...decided to sit out and wait till inventories were released before taking any more oil trades as price action got a bit choppy...the equities were not moving with any solid momentum, alot quieter than in recent days so I stayed out of any setups until I saw some convincing action (which I ended up not seeing until later)..after inventories released I was back to following oil and longs were on as oil started pushing up hard..waited for the pullback and standard entry long, got a good fill and off it went for +18 ticks..which means my patience in waiting for good setups paid off as I started the day negative after my first trade and bought it back nicely positive with 2 more solid trades..back at it tomorrow

Monday's trade

Forgot to post my trade from yesterday...was busy filling in some paperwork so not always focussed on the charts but did manage one solid oil trade for +14 ticks..standard entry and let the auto trade manager move stops etc..

Fri

Changed up chart settings slightly and also the automated trade management settings..just a couple trades today as I was occupied with othter things, first an oil long, took the entry and manual exit for +14 ticks...then a bit later (had to wait a while as things were slow) got a push then pullback on the NQ..entered as per the rules however had not adjusted the settings on the NQ automated trade manager so I was stopped out prematurely for -11 (stop should have been -15 which never got hit) so i finished the day +3 ticks..I am slapping myself in the face bcoz had I put the settings on correctly for the NQ trade, the first contract would have been +24 ticks and the second +40!! ah well back in action next week..

Wed

Bit of a slower market this morning, but still some decent setups..I followed oil a bit more closely than the equities today, but the equities were pretty much straight up all morning..oil was a bit less trendy, which can happen before oil inventories which were released today at 10.30est..just took a couple setups on oil for +15 ticks today, now if only the weather would clear up so i could hit the golf course quickly lol..

Tues

Been a busy last few days...in addition to trading in the morning the marina has gotten alot busier and we also moved into our own apt (had been crashing at my mom's since we first got back from Toronto)..finally in and settled and also got the net hooked up etc so I am all ready..traded yesterday for some decent ticks (didn't save charts) and again today, the markets are moving solidly and giving opportunities, again the key is trusting and taking the setups..here are a couple of the trades from today on oil, ended up again today

Wed

Well still trading and taking the setups..didn't trade Monday bcoz of the holiday in the U.S. but yesterday took a quick couple trades and then today was business as usual..did not have time to save all the snapshots this was a quick oil trade I grabbed for +5ticks (oil has since fallen alot more)..also had some trades on the NQ..

Thurs

Still trading rite now but wanted to post a pic of a trade i just took...it is a new type of trade i am working on, a reversal trade...the markets were in downtrends on the longer timeframes and we had a deep retrace back up...formed a swing high on the 4 renko chart and then moved lower...the next push up u will notice the upper band turned from red to yellow meaning a possible reversal area (previous recent high)..entered and sure enough got a push down for some ticks..

Monday, Tues, Wed..

Relatively flat trading for me on Monday and Tuesday, just could not get any great setups..yesterday (Wed) I didn't trade played golf instead and of course that was the morning of better movements..markets are moving well pre-open this morning as well so lets see what today brings..

Wednesday and Thurs..

Yesterday was a write-off, I had internet connection issues for most of the morning - would be online but kept getting disconnected for a bit then reconnected..this continued for a while and when I finally seemed to stay connected, I jumped the gun and took a bad trade for a -11 ticks. Decided to call it a day after that anyway today was much of the same, kept losing connectivity, however I did grab a couple trades and ended up net +21 ticks..I seem to have fixed the net issue but will know more when I try to load charts etc tomorrow morning...fingers crossed all goes well..did not have a chance to save charts to post as I'm also working on redesigning the webpage for the marina so that is taking up some time this afternoon..back at it tmr

live nq trade pre-market..

did not take any trades yesterday which is rare..the nq was just not in sync, was resting on support and could not break lower..this morning some news out of greece has sent the markets lower pre-market so i am in a nasdaq short.. UPDATE: first contract hit target second stopped out so net was +12 ticks

Thursday..

Followed the CL and NQ today..bit of news in the morning and Bernanke was speaking..anyway got a long move up in the CL so I waited for a nice pullback but the upmove didnt continue...took a stopout of -15 ticks and the CL went choppy...decided to focus on the NQ as it was moving a bit better, waited for the downmove to establish itself and then took the preferred setup..got crazy slippage as it was moving fast (the red triangle down on the chart was where the order entry system placed the order, the pink arrow and sideways triangle is the fill)..i held as per my trade management rules, ended up taking the first contract off at +16 and the second at +20 for a net of +18, making up for the CL loss and then some...I missed a few good NQ setups as well, might focus on it a bit more and put the CL on the backburner as I've found the CL can move well especially after inventories release, but has quite a bit of chop as well..back in action tomorrow (did not save the CL chart, but posting the NQ which shows the entry and exits)

Now off to help out at my friend's boat rental and jet ski tour business...here is a pic I took yesterday from our dock, gotta love living on an island!

wednesday..

bit busy doing other things early on this morning, plus the nq was a bit jumpy so didnt bother taking any setups on it..waited for crude oil inventories to be released as this usually gives some smooth moves..got a big push up on oil so then it was the same as always, wait for the pullback and reversal bar then in..took 2 buys both hit target of 20 ticks..if I had traded multiple contracts (which i intend to do after studying the cl a bit more) the wins would have been even sweeter..

live oil futures trade..

in a live oil trade rite now..q filter short off the signal line ma..UPDATE: i closed the trade manually at +22 ticks profit it almost turned around but i held looking for the previous lows..

live trade NQ..

Its NFP release day...I have been trading all week have not had much time to update things as have been busy apartment hunting, working in the afternoons at the boat rental business, and also unloading our container which we shipped from canada to here..markets are moving lower after the release I may not have time to trade much tho as the shipping company is here to finish unloading this morning.. The trade is the standard entry..waited for markets to open then jumped in..first contract is already out (this chart shows the entries as well) for +16 tick the second is running.. UPDATE: second contract stopped out net was +10 ticks per contract on the trade in total